
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



C]iap..M^- Copyright No... 
Shellacs 



_*f%^? 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



YOUNG MEN'S SERIES. 



TRUE MANLINESS: 



A Pocket Companion for Boys and Young Men 



By C. E. WALKER, D. D., 

Lecturer Herron Institute of Economic and Social Reform, 

Sometime President of Central College, author of 

Marital Purity, Our Wedding Wreath, etc. 



INTRODUCTION BY REV. I. N. CAIN, A. M., 
Of Western College, now Missionary in Africa. 



"Wanted— A Man." 



CHICAGO: 

National Purity Association, 

79-81 Fifth Avenue. 

1897. 






TRUE MANLINESS 

Is attainable by living from day to 
day, from, moment to moment, as in 
the Divine Presence. Many fail be- 
cause they burden themselves with 
the failures of yesterday, the duties 
of today and the trials of tomorrow. 
Forget the past, live in the now and 
the future will care for itself. 

True manliness comprehends a 
life conformed to highest Christian 
ideals, replete with all the virtues, 
full of goodness, truth and love. 

Pray earnestly for Divine help, 
heavenly wisdom and strength of 
will to live continuously up to your 
highest convictions of right. 

By Divine grace you can over- 
come evil, be a victor always and 
receive the promised crown of life. 

J. B. C. 

Copyright 1897, by National Purity Association, Chicago. 



In deepest sympathy 

with boyhood, 

realizing the needs of youth 

and the 

possibility of development 

into True Manliness 

when properly instructed 

and encouraged 

To My Son and Other's Sons 

this manual is 

most lovingly inscribed. 

THE AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS, 

APOLOGY 5 

INTRODUCTION 7 

THE COMING MAN 9 

GENERAL VIEW 10 

NEED OF KNOWLEDGE 13 

A GOOD MIND 14 

A GOOD BODY 17 

CARE AND COMFORT OF THE BODY 20 
Breathing 1 — Food— The Mouth— The 
Bowels— The Outside— The Clothing: 

CONSCIENCE; THE MAN INSIDE 27 

THE MIND 31 

CHARACTER 35 

Reverence and Respect — Be an Al- 
truist — Elements of Success. 

RED LANTERN SIGNALS— DANGER . . 44 

PURITY THE LAW OF LIFE 50 

MASTURBATION 58 

COMRADESHIP 63 

ALLEGIANCE TO OUR CHIEF 67 

REDEMPTION OF TIME 71 

BUSINESS SUCCESS 75 

READING 79 

EDUCATION 85 

SOCIETY 88 

AMUSEMENTS VS. RECREATION 93 

VALUABLE QUOTATIONS , 96 

Susannah Wesley — Samuel Smiles — 
Burns — Beecher — Emerson — Scien- 
tific American — P. T. Barnum — Dr. E. 
P. Miller — Chauncey Depew, etc. 

A MOTHER'S LETTER TO HER SON.. 104 

VERY IMPORTANT TO YOUNG MEN. 107 

THE YOUNG MAN'S LIBRARY 109 



MY APOLOGY 

For the appearance of this Pocket Companion 
for Boys and Young- Men is the deep convic- 
tion that many, very many boys are so unfor- 
tunate as not to have access to such reading 
nor the thoughtful parental verbal instruction 
to enable them to steer clear of the danger 
that a fire may be kindled within them which, 
of its very nature, must consume the energies 
of manhood. 

I am deeply in S3^mpathy with boyhood. It 
is a period of life and a developing power that 
will prove either a wonderful blessing to the 
noble, aspiring soul wrapped in it, or a curse 
to that youthful selfhood and, it may be, to 
scores of others. 

Oh, the thousands of boys who have grown 
into a sort of manhood and are now dragging 
through a miserable existence — a burden to 
themselves and to all concerned. Other thou- 
sands have not been permitted to reach this 
period of suffering manhood, but, contending- 
with the fires within them, were overcome by 
the wrathful flames of passion, and fell, con- 
sumed by the way ! Pitiable sight ! Bright 
and cheering babyhood, born with excessive 
amativeness, nursed* into early manifestations 
of a perverted sexuality, and permitted to be 
led into the secret sin of uninformed youth, 

♦Provoked amative thought in the lives of mothers easily be- 
comes the poison of the nourishment of the infant. And so pas- 
sion, being fed, grows in early child-life. A warning to all. 



6 TRUE MANLINESS. 

that which should have been a noble and hap- 
py boyhood became, for a time, a walking- 
death, then went the way of all the earth — so 
early, yet thereby escaping" an indefinable 
suffering that surely would have followed had 
the life been prolonged. 

It is to prevent, so far as may be possible, 
these sad consequences to our boys of today 
and of the days to come, that this little book is 
sent forth. It is issued as a warning to par- 
ents, as a helping hand to youth. It comes 
from a father to benefit his own son, and to 
benefit others' sons. It is the expression of a 
burning heart of sympathy for boyhood, the 
stroke of a nerved hand lifted against the 
most awful demon this side of the bottomless 
pit — the monster, lust, that from the Edenic 
fall has consumed in its awful fire more than 
all wars and pestilences have destroyed. 

I have no fear of placing this manual in the 
hands of any boy. Its counsel is presented in 
that spirit which must command the approval 
of any youth who has yet, as his possession, 
self-respect. Parents, teachers, philanthro- 
pists are kindly requested to place the book 
into the possession of boys everywhere and, by 
the appeal thus made to unfolding manhood 
and the forewarning given, forearm them 
against seductive vice and crime. Let us join 
with the purpose of God and, in co-operative 
energy, save the boys. 

C. E. Walker. 

Herron Institute of Christian Sociology, 
Glyndon, Minn., May 30, 1894. 



INTRODUCTION. 

No period of our lives is so critical as that of 
boyhood. It is full of growth, full of change, 
full of newness. And we find this growth and 
change taking strong hold upon the powers 
that are to make "the coming man." With 
what aspirations does the heart of the boy 
swell at each new achievement ! What boy 
has not felt an inexpressible something rising 
in has soul at each new acquirement of his 
life? 

This critical period will tell largely on our 
powers of life. Then how important that we 
should guard this young and growing self 
that we may become the best and strongest 
men. 

It is only when our better sensibilities are 
benumbed by some error or misfortune that 
we cease to feel these noble and elevating joys 
which are peculiar to the freedom of boyhood. 
Although boyhood is the most growing peri- 
od, because both body and mind, as well as 
soul, are enlarging, yet, if boyhood and young 
manhood were properly launched on the sea 
of life, with needful instruction as to how to 
avoid the traps and pitfalls of life and to at- 
tain the haven of safety, there might always 
remain in boys and young men those great 
aspirations which add richness and strength 
to both soul and body. 

Every boy looks with fond hope to the time 
when he shall be a man. How frequently we 



8 TRUE MANLINESS. 

hear the boy say, "When I am a man I will" do 
so and so. And truly everyone, whether boy 
or young- man, should look with hope to the 
greater enlargement of our tomorrow. It is 
not true, as is very sentimentally expressed by 
some of the literature of today, that we may 
"not feel the swelling of the heart" as in boy- 
hood. If life is begun as it should be, and the 
boy learns what a true man is, and how to 
avoid that which will clog or stunt any part of 
his nature, then we may look for a man who 
will gain new heights continually. The music 
of nature is as wonderfully sweet to that man 
as it was to his boyhood — aye, more. But let 
bad habit, ill temper, or immoral thought, fill 
the life of the boy and the man will be "deaf 
and dumb and blind" to all that heaven can 
offer for the joy of man in this world. 

If the youth of to-day will find out the re- 
quirements of success, and will read and fol- 
low the better thoughts and inclinations of 
good men, "the coming man" will be a better 
man than the world has yet seen. And this 
thought should cause a very great aspiration 
in every boy. To think that we may be the 
phalanx which shall usher in a better tomor- 
row of society is a grand thought to reverber- 
ate along the corridors of the soul of any boy. 

So now, boys and young men, let us follow 
the author closely, with our minds aglow with 
a desire to learn what a true man is and how 
we may be the very best men. If we are not in 
the way toward True Manliness, we should 



TRUE MANLINESS. 9 

read and heed well the instructions of this 
friend of bo} r s. If we are in the way, let us 
read that we may become more firmly estab- 
lished and that we may help others. Every 
boy should have inscribed on the banner of 
his life, "True Manliness, the Success of Man- 
kind." I. N. CAIN. 
Western College. 



THE COMING MAN. 

O, to be a man ! This is the longing- cher- 
ished in the heart of every boy as he becomes 
old enough to make estimates, even though 
crudely enough, of man and the simpler rela- 
tions of man's estate. He dreams of the days 
of muscular strength and manly stature when 
he shall be addressed as Mr. A.! 

All the youthful fancies of future greatness 
are located in the realm of manhood ; all suc- 
cesses are contemplated as being- possible on- 
ly in that desirable sphere. 

And who would repress these dreams, or 
spoil one of these fancies? For truly are not 
all these aspirations the natural and rightful 
expression and prophecy of the inner unfold- 
ing life of that which is to figure as a unit of 
society — man ? To this end has God arranged 
that there should be a boy, a gracious devel- 
oping man. So that indeed the boy-dreams of 
manly growth and strength are but the indica- 
tions of the aim of life, the proclamation of 
what the boy is to be. 



10 TRUE MANLINESS. 

Inasmuch as the boyish ideas are somewhat 
rugged or crude, there must come into the 
youthful mind, with its growth of years, mod- 
ifications and corrections, in order to a more 
perfect life when the boy shall have reached 
the station where he is to be known as a man. 
Heaven bless the boy who, while looking anx- 
iously forward to the manly height he is to 
attain, determines to be every inch a man. 

Upon becoming a true man depends all the 
blessings of life and all its successes, whatever 
maybe the favorable or unfavorable surround- 
ings of the boy. To fill man's sphere pleasant- 
ly and profitably for one's self and all con- 
cerned, the very best must be developed in the 
life of the boy whose throbbing heart is reach- 
ing forward aspiringly to the days of man- 
hood. 

All hail the bo}M He is our younger broth- 
er. With a brother's interest, then, we would 
write such lines of instruction as shall help in 
making for the boy a g-enuine character of 
greatness— True Manliness. 

GENERAL VIEW. 

To the careful observer there lie open to 
view many things instructive and interesting, 
but nothing that comes to the notice of the 
writer is more fascinating, as a study, than 
boyhood. Beginning to teach school among 
the hills of southeastern Ohio before he was 
nineteen years old, the demands of the school 
very soon compelled him to open his eyes to 



TRUE MANLINESS. 11 

"ascertain what a boy is, anyhow !" and from 
those days, so full of perplexity (though very 
happy times), down, or rather up, to this writ- 
ing", a boy has been a very delightful subject 
for study. 

There are good-looking boys and ugly-look- 
ing boys, strong boys and weak boys, bright 
boys and dull boys, good boys and bad boys ; 
but to the writer there is something for very 
serious thought to be seen in the finest and 
best boy, something that encourages hopeful- 
ness in the weakest and worst boy. Indeed, 
there is something which is common to all 
these boys, and which may need our wisest 
counsel, our warmest love, our most earnest 
prayers. 

There is the fine-looking boy who may be 
easily spoiled through pride, which is foolish- 
ness; the strong boy may either waste or mis- 
use his strength; the bright boy may insult 
wisdom by attempting to "show off" on favora- 
ble occasions for exhibition; and the homely 
or ugly boy may need our sympathy (for most 
of us somehow feel that we would rather be 
good-looking*) until he learns that beauty of 
character, excellence of behavior, rises superi- 
or to any mere physical good looks; the weak 
boy's case calls for a kind word from friends 
whose counsel might easily prove helpful in 
gaining physical prowess from wise regula- 



*The author was annoyed in boyhood with the thought of a nose 
entirely too large for looks, but soon rose above what might have 
been a torment by the consoling thought that his pastor, who had 
a large nose, was the best man in town. 



12 TRUE MANLINESS. 

tions in the use of air, food and exercise, and 
the added thought of inspiring- hopefulness 
by opportune, cheering words*; the dull boy 
may need to know that some of our wisest men 
were once considered extremely dull, and that 
they were able to develop their powers of mind 
by earnest endeavors to learn useful, helpful 
things. The fact of their dulness being known 
to them spurred them on to greater efforts 
than they would otherwise have put forth. 

The good boy may have strong impulses 
with some inclination which is easily misdi- 
rected and his danger remain unseen to him 
and his friends, because he is commonly con- 
sidered good. He ought to be so instructed 
that he would not rely alone upon his good- 
ness. The bad boy! Well, we rather like the 
bad boy yet, and must say a word for him. 
We must condemn everthing that is evil, pur- 
posely bad, and yet this boy who is called bad 
must not be ignored, nor pushed aside nor 
left without brotherly counsel to help him be 
and do better. 

It is not the bad that we like or commend, 
but it is the boy we love and desire to help and 
save. It is the soul that, freed from all evil 
and filled with good, would arise to the plane 
of noble manhood— and to this manly soul we 
wish to lend a helping hand. 



*A young man in poor health was helped by the cheering words 
of encouragement of a Christian woman who always managed to 
have something to say as a basis for hopefulness when she met 
him. 



TRUE MANLINESS. 13 

NEED OF KNOWLEDGE. 

The proper study of mankind is man.— Pope. 

Now, boys, this book comes to you to speak 
some kind words of encouragement, words of 
counsel, with the hope of helping* many a boy 
to be a stronger, wiser and better man for the 
reading of these pages. 

When a boy the writer was many miles from 
home, among strangers, often weighted down 
with a sad heart, sometimes sorely tempted to 
evil, and almost entirely without counsel, es- 
pecially without important counsel on the care 
of the body and the mind, and in these circum- 
stances for nearly five critical years, he came 
to feel the need of a pocket manual, such as 
this book is intended to be, and trying in vain 
to get a proper book of instructions, he re- 
solved, some day, to write a book which would 
help other boys and prove a safe guide over 
dangerous paths; indeed, a Companion whose 
counsel, if followed, might easily save the 
whole life of many a noble boy. 

Boys ought to be manly in the care of the 
body, in the thought entertained in the mind 
and in everything, that they remember the 
words of the slave woman* who said, "Thou, 
God, seest me." 

In the chapters to follow you may read 
something about the body and its different 
parts, the author aiming to awaken a deeper 
interest in the wonderful "house we live in," 

♦Hagar. Gen. xvi, 13. 



14: TRUE MANLINESS. 

and then give some instruction about the 
mind, which has the office of directing- the 
man with his powers and impulses. 

In connection with the brief chapter on the 
body it would be well to read a good school 
physiology; and with the chapter on the mind, 
some good work on phrenology.* 

At the close of the chapter on what to read 
may be found a list of books which ought to 
be read with a view toward getting a larger, 
but correct idea of life. This book aims to es- 
tablish the idea of manliness, but the enlarge- 
ment of one's usefulness must depend upon 
growth and application. 

A GOOD MIND. 

We have mentioned the longing to be a man 
— the cherished desire of every boy. But what 
is it to be a man? Someone has said, "To be, 
or not to be? That is the question." But with 
the boy the question is one of growth, of 
strength, of freedom. O, how a boy does long 
for liberty! And just here the dear boy often, 
so often, blunders in the idea that he enter- 
tains of liberty. What is liberty? What is lib- 
erty to be to the boy who thinks that "When I 
am a man, I'll be free"? 

Along this line of thought there is room for 
better ideas than some of us had as boys. But 
the answer is not so easily given at this point. 
Just as a boy's idea of what it is to be great is 

*Lind's " Lessons in Physiology" and "Brain and Mind", Dray- 
ton. 



TRUE MANLINESS. 15 

not always easily set aside by the true concep- 
tion of greatness. We will strive to get at cor- 
rect positions on these very important things. 
To be strong, to be free are frequently two 
thoughts that combine to serve as the object 
toward which the bright boy pushes every- 
thing, even turning the pages of the calendar 
to hasten the time when he may announce joy- 
ously to the world, "I am a man !" Good ! we 
gladly pass the word along — a man. But our 
task is set to give the fullest possible meaning 
to the term man, and to enable our readers, — 
the boys, our brothers — to strive successfully 
with the author to build up a stronger, purer, 
better manhood for the world's tomorrow. 

We do not want the youthful spirit to pass 
away, nor stiffness of manner to palm itself off 
for manhood. We believe that the man should 
maintain a sweet and youthful spirit, and that 
social flexibility is more the mark of a man 
than is the rigid manner of some who have 
nothing but stiffness, apparently, to lend aid. 
in proof that they would be men. Refinement 
and ease of manner, are marks of manliness. 

We must not think to hasten the days of free- 
dom or greatness by the choice of a trade or a 
profession, nor conclude that to sit in the seat 
of a great man will make us great. While it is 
true that to associate with great men helps us 
to truer ideas of manliness, and refines us in 
some degree, it is still true that the secret of 
greatness is not outward but within us, and 
however much of assistance others may afford 



16 TRUE MANLINESS. 

us by our privilege to associate with them, the 
greatness that we should earnestly desire is 
character, and character is within us. 

Certainly there is nothing to condemn in 
thinking of a trade or any calling, neither 
would we hint that to desire the association of 
the good and true is wrong, for we are always 
to take advantage of our earliest opportunities 
to get information touching the various call- 
ings of life, and make use of the company of 
all good people when we may do so properly. 
But the caution is that the profession cannot 
make us great if we permit unworthy thoughts 
and desires to tarnish our characters ; and in- 
stead of the association with good people rais- 
ing us higher, we may injure them if our 
hearts or hands lay hold of evil. 

Little Johnnie Talbot, in tender years, was 
asked "What are you going to be — doctor, law- 
yer, minister, or what?" His reply carried 
something deeper, fuller than his years could 
fathom, saying, " I dess Don better be a man 
'fore he's any of 'em." 

With the thought that to become a man 
means to grow up into mature years a charac- 
ter good and true, we desire to show our youth- 
ful readers that a body kept sacred, a mind 
filled with pure thoughts, a soul (the being of 
energy) diligently applied to a worthy world- 
object, and a spirit that breathes devotion to 
God, our Father — these together constitute a 
man whose character may rightly bear the 
title of this book, True Manliness. 



TRUE MANLINESS. 17 

A GOOD BODY. 

We are fearfully and wonderfully made.— David. 

For grace, for strength, the body is, — 

God's temple, in your care ; 
You ought to guard it as all his, 

And ask his help in prayer. 

Well, of course, any boy wishes to be strong 1 , 
and one of the things which calls forth the 
boy's ambition to be a man is the assurance 
that in the triumphant era of manhood there 
will be strength. And who blames the boy ! 

In the study of physiology we may learn 
many very interesting things about the body; 
the framework of bones serving as levers in 
some cases, as coverings to protect cavities 
and their delicate contents in other cases, and 
all giving graceful form to the body. The cov- 
erings of muscles*, some of which give plump- 
ness of form, others serving as cords of elastic 
to raise the bone-levers, and all to furnish 
place for protected channels for blood and 
other fluids in the system, and in which the 
telegraphic wires we call nerves may be strung 
up throughout the body. Now these bones f 
muscles and nerves are all made up of little 
cells, particles of matter so small that, on an 
average, it takes about two thousand of these 
little units, laid side by side, to measure an 
inch. These cells form the building material 
of "the house we live in." The human body 
grows by the multiplication of these cells. In 



The muscles of an ox may be examined at a meat market. 



18 TRUE MANLINESS. 

the study of physiology and anatomy we may 
learn how the body grows, the cells multiply- 
ing- from the food we eat and the life in the 
body, some cells "dying" and new ones form- 
ing all the time, the business of "the man in- 
side the body being to see that proper food in 
sufficient quantities is taken into the system, 
and by the rig-fitful care of "the fleshly house" 
in every part, hold it pure and sacred as "the 
temple of God," as the Apostle Paul says. 

Any boy knows that a g*ood body should be 
strong-, clean, growing", until maturity, — ev- 
ery part made to serve the purpose in the plan 
of God. To make this idea hold good we must 
learn, from our study of physiology, the prop- 
er thing to do in treatment of the body, bath- 
ing, clothing", etc.; and once knowing the laws 
of health, earnestly set ourselves to obey. In 
these pages we shall give such instruction in 
this regard, as may not be found in the school 
books. 

If we can impress upon the minds of boys 
the importance of placing a high estimate up- 
on the body and, by a few plain words, secure 
for each org-an (part) the care it should have, 
this work will be of service to many a man 
who is now in the youthful period and liable 
to dang-ers, of the consequences of which little 
is generally known until, at great cost, later 
in life, much suffering is produced. 

Practices which waste the strength of boy- 
hood certainly cause a weak manhood, and 
anything which leads to the least disregard 
for the body, or any of its parts, should be 



TRUE MANLINESS. 19 

fought out of the community of boyhood 
thought. The writer is determined on prevent- 
ing- the formation of habits that may injure a 
single boy. His estimate of the worth of boy- 
hood would certainly urge him to write and 
teach what may save as many noble boys as 
possible from the errors of ill-informed youth. 

Good food, pure air, sound sleep, and clean- 
liness may all be defeated in the making of a 
good body if the cells which these form are 
destroyed through the recklesness and wrong- 
doing of the boy in charge of himself. 

The parts of the body which serve any given 
purpose are called organs; the purpose or of- 
fice performed being termed the function of 
the organ. Some organs of the body serve 
more than on purpose, as we learn in the 
school physiologies and from observation. 
We notice that the stomach receives the food 
and serves to handle this cell-making material 
for us, and separates from the body-building 
material all the coarse matter which can not be 
used in the system. The lungs serve us in 
taking the air into the system, and separating 
the blood-making part of the air from the oth- 
er elements. The lungs also throw off poison- 
ous gases and dead cells, which are cast out in 
the wonderful operation of blood-making car- 
ried on at the point within where the circula- 
tory (blood-carrying) system performs the 
work of uniting the life-powers of food and air 
— the food-properties coming from the stom- 
ach, the air arriving by way of the lungs — and 



20 TRUE MANLINESS. 

thus creating- new cells to build up the vari- 
ous tissues of the body. 

As these are receiving* organs* through the 
office of which we get cell-making material in- 
to the body, so there are excretory organs to 
carry off coarse or refuse matter. 

Under all circumstances we must insist up- 
on holding the body sacred in all its parts and 
organs. The care of the .temple of God is a 
high trust to have committed to the care of 
young manhood, and we are sure that the 
proper care given to all the parts will result in 
a useful and a good body. 

CARE AND COMFORT OF THE BODY. 

We may regard the body as the physical basis of mental energy; 
hence the kind of a body which the person is to use as the instru- 
ment of the mind is of prime importance.— Prof. James H. Baker. 

While discouraging the exaltation of the ma- 
terial above the mental and spiritual elements 
of the world we must lay stress upon the truth 
that whatever God, in his great wisdom, has 
exalted to a high office we may not debase. 

The body, as the house we live in, the dress 
of the soul, should be kept healthy, clean and 
worthy — the abode of the spiritual man who is 
made in the spirit and likeness of God. 

Inasmuch as that which goes into the body 
to furnish supplies for the demands of the va- 
rious forces, and as the quality of the blood 
has to do with the physical, mental and moral 
energy, we emphasize here the care for the in- 
side of the body. The blood is re-inforced by 

♦Stomach and lungs are receiving organs. 



TRUE MANLINESS. 21 

the oxygen taken into the lungs from the air 
breathed and from the elements taken from 
the food carried into the stomach. Therefore, 

THE BREATHING 
is a very important matter. Attention should 
be given to the ventilation of living rooms, 
even though this has been unprovided for by 
the architect and builder. Our breathing 
should be done in the purest air obtainable. 

There should be no hap-hazard breathing, 
leaving nature to take care of herself, as many 
persons so recklessly do. A young lady re- 
marked to a member of the writer's family: "I 
am breathing in lungs I never knew I had un- 
til now;" and she is a lady of more than aver- 
age culture, a school teacher, and a teacher of 
physiology and hygiene at that ! implying 
that her breathing had been left to itself, thus 
never filling the entire lungs and as surely 
missing perhaps one-half of much-needed life- 
force to carry on the work of a responsible po- 
sition. If we can breathe "without think- 
ing," it were far better to breathe with a good 
deal of thinking, both as to how and what we 
breathe. Any good physiology will enable 
the reader to understand the wisdom and im- 
portance of good breathing-.* When out in the 
open air, throw back the head and shoulders, 
walk briskly and breathe by will-power, filling 
the lungs full, being careful always to breathe 
through the nose. Daily, as opportunity is af- 

*"How to Breathe," by J. B. Caldwell, may be obtained from 
the National Purity Association, 79 Fifth avenue, Chicago, and 
will prove a blessing to all who will follow its counsel (10 cents) . 



22 TRUE MANLINESS. 

forded, practice this out-door deep breathing", 
making- it a business of the will until deep, 
full breathing becomes natural without the 
exercise of will-power. Allow no tight cloth- 
ing to hamper the breathing. 
FOOD. 

In regard to food let us caution against a 
sentiment that "anything is good enough," 
and another equally wrong sentiment that 
"all we get in this world is what we eat." Hon- 
or the body with substantial food, well pre- 
pared, not highly seasoned, but do not live to 
eat, to gratify a physical appetite. Our heav- 
enly Father planned normal appetites and 
furnished the material base for good, palata- 
table foods, and meant that we should enjoy 
satisfying the appetite by eating, while hold- 
ing us to higher thought than simply to please 
the tastes. 

We quote the following aphorisms from the 
writings of J. B. Caldwell: 

"In eating, five things are to be considered : 

"1 Why — to build up, strengthen and replen- 
ish. 

"2 How — slowly, carefully, wisely, cheerful- 
ly, temperately, thankfully. 

"3 WHEN — regular^, at Stated intervals. 

"4 WHERE — with cheerful company, in nice, 
clean, tasteful surroundings. 

"5 WHAT— wholesome, agreeable, nourishing 
food. 

"That which agrees with some may injure 
others. Good food may be eaten in a way that 
will hinder digestion, and poor food may be 
so eaten as to help the system." 



TRUE MANLINESS. 23 

While eating* and drinking- are usually con- 
sidered as having primary importance in sup- 
plying physical forces, the same is true only 
to the end these forces may serve the true pur- 
pose of being — the development, discipline 
and perfection of soul-character. The social 
phase of sitting at table together often brings 
out of the dining far more for character than 
anj^thing else that is derivable from the table 
provision. 

But the "eating to live" and serve, call for a 
consideration of quality and quantity. Too 
rich foods often lay the foundation for weak 
physical systems early in life and the func- 
tions of the stomach become so thwarted that 
it can never thereafter render efficient service. 
Quantity may equally overpower the stomach 
too, so that overeating, as a simple matter of 
fact, helps to swell the death rate as much as 
underfeeding-. Starvation brings speedy death, 
but over-loading- the stomach habitually re- 
sults in much disease and shortened life. 

Tto MOUTH 
pla}^s a very important part in the disposition 
and utilization of the food-supply and deserves 
serious consideration. The teeth should be 
kept clean, and freed from all foreign matter 
that may lodge between them. A brush and 
tepid water, salted a little, serve splendidly at 
trifling expense. A quill pick should be kept 
at hand with which to remove all adhering- 
food from the teeth immediately after meals. 
This should be done, as we do any other toilet 
work, in private, or not in the presence of oth- 



2i TRUE MANLINESS. 

ers. The condition of the mouth, if neglected, 
will carry its own witness of uncleanliness, as 
the breath, borne through the mouth, will be 
scented by our associates. Health and court- 
esy to our fellows demand cleanliness. 

THE BOWELS 
require attention, and should move once a day 
Whenever circumstances hinder compliance 
with nature's demands great care should be 
taken to secure a movement at the first oppor- 
tunity. A habit of regularity should be estab- 
lished. 

Should there be constipation a remedy bet- 
ter than pills is the flushing system, in which 
a common bulb syringe, costing about seven- 
ty-five cents, may serve to carry a quantity of 
water, as warm as bearable to the naked hand 
(and soaped with castile soap, if convenient) in- 
to the colon by rectal injection. It is a good 
thing thus to thoroughly evacuate the colon 
once a week even though not troubled with 
constipation. After the movement thus pro- 
duced, the injection of a quart or so of warm 
water (never use cold) will serve to cleanse the 
walls of the lower colon. After this cleansing 
a pint or so of water injected and retained will 
be beneficial, by absorption finding its way to 
the bladder, cleansing the system. This flush- 
ing should not be done oftener than twice a 
week unless by medical direction. [The poi- 
sonous emanation of retained waste matter 
penetrate the entire system, producing disease 
and serious complications, and should, there- 
fore, be regularly and promptly removed. The 



TRUE MANLINESS. 25 

instructions here given in regard to flushing* 
the sj^stem are equal to those for which thou- 
sands recently paid five dollars each. — Ed.] 

THE OUTSIDE 
of the body demands care and attention for 
the sake of health, comfort and courtesy. The 
higher the degree of health enjoyed, the great- 
er the comfort of living- and, other thing's be- 
ing- equal, the more companionable the person. 

The skin should be kept scrupulously clean. 
Lack of cleanliness lowers self-respect and in- 
sults the g-ood taste of our associates. A lake 
or river is not a necessity in order to obey the 
physiological commandment, "Keep clean.' 
A small basin of warm water, set upon a news- 
paper, and a five-cent spong-e, or a soft flannel 
cloth, and a penny's worth of pure soap give 
ample means for a good bath and may be had 
in any room occupied without soiling- the 
finest carpet. The dry-bath, or skin rubbing- 
with a g-ood flesh-brush, serves an admirable 
purpose and quickens the surface-life greatly. 

[The sun-bath, consisisting- of a half-hour's 
exposure to the sun, weekly, is a great promo- 
ter of health.— Ed.] 

THE CLOTHING 
of a boy or young- man is too often made to 
turn on showiness. While encouraging- taste 
in dress we should carefully avoid all display. 
There is g-reat difference between acting- as ad- 
vertiser for the tailoring business and using 
the tailor's art for service. 

The quality of one's clothing" needs consid- 
eration — the climate, class of work, and the 



26 TRUE MANLINESS. 

condition of the man, each has a bearing in 
determining- the most suitable quality. 

The body should not be bound at any point. 
Looseness should be a characteristic of cloth- 
ing for both men and women. 

Cleanliness is a most important matter. Un- 
derwear should be scrupulously guarded, oft- 
en changed, and never worn at night (in bed), 
a loose night-shirt always being a part of a 
gentleman's outfit, close at hand, when repair- 
ing to his bed-room. 

A neat tie, perfectly clean collar, shoes nice- 
ly cleaned and polished, hair combed, finger- 
nails cleaned and trimmed, hat on the head 
level, and an air of thoughtfulness are marks 
of manliness for which all observing people 
seem to look as by intuition, so truly do these 
things indicate the kind of mind that is lead- 
ing a boy or man. Slovenliness in dress may 
be shown in apparel of rich quality as well as 
in raiment called poor and mean; and taste 
can be revealed in the poorest sort of clothing. 
A bare-foot boy will receive due attention 
from his elders as quickly as he whose shoes 
are from the top-shelf in the foot-wear market, 
and the kangaroo or patent-leather shoes may 
be only an easy means of knowing how much 
of a boor the wearer really is. It is not cost- 
ly raiment and rings, but taste and manners 
that make the man. 

Eat for strength, dress for comfort and serv- 
ice, keeping the body sacred as God's dwell- 
ing-place, entertaining the holiest regard for 
the divine purpose in the use of every part of 



TRUE MANLINESS. 27 

the tabernacle in which the "man inside" has 
his dwelling-, and remember that the old max- 
im, "a sound mind in a sound body/' has a 
deep meaning-, and suggests a call for a sound 
mind as a basis for true manliness. 

CONSCIENCE; OR, TflE MAN INSIDE. 

"Something inside o' you what talks, but not out loud." 

—Lorain Priest, age, $%. 

"Conscience is not a thing to be acquired."— Kant. 

Some things we know by reason of having 
been taught. Other, and very important, 
things, we know without any such teaching. 

God is all-wise and in every other attribute 
of his personality is unlimited. We can not 
think of God without believing that he knows 
that he exists, that he is free to choose, that 
he is God. Now whatever we believe about 
ourselves as to our bodies, our minds, our 
spirits, we believe that God made man and 
that in some things, the things in which we 
are capable of greatest improvement in think- 
ing and doing good, we are most like God. 
' While we do get our being from our parents 
it is also true that God made the first man and 
woman with the power to generate new beings 
like themselves; it is also true that through 
certain wisely established laws God gives the 
life. But the first pair (Adam and Eve) got 
their entire being, personality, direct from 
God. He has taught us in the Bible (Gen. i, 27) 
that "God created man in his own image." We 
are called his children. Believing all this, we 
must conclude that in some things we bear the 



28 TRUE MANLINESS. 

marks of God's character. In these statements 
are found some truths which indicate that we 
are much like God: I know that I am that I 
I am, free to choose (the right or the wrong) 
and I know that I am a man — a capable, re- 
sponsible being-. Having these propositions 
to guide us a little further, let us ask, How are 
we to be sure we are right? 

We know that the body is not the man — 
properly speaking. The body is "the house 
we live in." The man is inside, as little Lorain 
Priest said when his mother asked him who 
was doing the thinking. This inner man is a 
conscious personality, with will, reason, con- 
science. In the Standard Dictionary you may 
learn that conscience is "the power or faculty 
in man by which he distinguishes between 
right and wrong in conduct and character." 
When we think, say or do wrong things we feel 
badly. Conscience reproves us somewhat, but 
more particularly, conscience decides that a 
thing is right or wrong. 

If I cut my hand I have pain in the flesh 
where the nerves are injured. If I do wrong I 
am troubled in conscience. The "hurt" in the 
flesh is a warning for all time to take care of 
my body. The "troubled conscience" is a 
warning to be thoughtful and guard myself 
from the wrong always. We may so disregard 
conscience that our moral power weakens and 
in the loss of moral self-respect we may so si- 
lence our convictions that wrong doing will 
cause us less trouble of conscience. The use 
of my hand may callous (harden) it so that 



TRUE MANLINESS. 29 

the nerves may not easily have opportunity to 
report to the brain when the hand is brought 
in contact with even a hot substance; and in a 
similar manner the abuse of a sensitive con- 
science may so destroy it that it will no 
longer serve in the office of a "kindly warning 
friend." 

Oftentimes when a boy shows himself the 
possessor of a sensitive conscience his coarser 
school-mates will jeer him with being "old 
womanish," a "granny," or "tied to his moth- 
er's apron-strings." All such unmanly thrusts 
should be met with the power of a noble re- 
serve, which ever determines to be a "woman- 
ish" man with noble heart, rather than an un- 
manly, coarse-grained boy. Daring to do evil 
in the face of conscience proves one a coward, 
while courageously holding to the right in the 
face of opposition, not only retains an approv- 
ing conscience, but compels the respect of 
those who sneeringly defy conscience — con- 
science in the heroic and in themselves — and 
who feel sneaking for it as soon as the flush of 
evil-daring has past away. 

It pays to cherish the fullest regard for our 
"inward monitor" whose voice; though sound- 
less, ever seeks to keep us in line with God's 
eternal right, and which always rewards us 
with approval when we "hear and heed" its 
earnest call to obey the law of God — which law, 
stated as an abstract but working principle, is 
—Do Right. 

The earnest entreaties woven into other parts 
of this Pocket Companion should serve to add 



30 TRUE MANLINESS. 

force to what is said here, and lead each one of 
us to maintain the highest regard for our own 
"man inside," and for every boy with a refined 
conscience. 

Purest manhood should be sought 

As your pattern, man to make; 
Cherish only noble thought, 

Keep your conscience wide awake. 

[Conscience is, to a large extent, a creature 
of heredity and environment. Like the eye, it 
sees only that which is visible in its surround- 
ings. In India it is bound and hampered by 
caste; in Saul of Tarsus it persecuted the fol- 
lowers of Christ; in many religions it is ruled 
by prejudice and superstition. The conscience 
that is very strict on minor details and indif- 
ferent concerning that which is highest, truest 
and best in life (justice, purity and love) needs 
enlightenment. The conscience that forbids 
meat on Friday but is dumb in the presence of 
murder, needs attention. The conscience that 
condemns all helps to reverent knowledge and 
yet allows its possessor to wantonly destroy 
another's reputation, is in a deplorable state. 
A morbid conscience, that makes one misera- 
ble and causes him to spend the time in vain 
regrets and useless repinings, needs to be re- 
stored to normal conditions where, with divine 
freedom and heavenly wisdom, it will accu- 
rately represent the voice of God in the human 
soul. It is absolutely necessary for mankind 
to earnestly seek to know what is right and 
just. It is a deplorable condition to be con- 
scientiously in the wrong; but until convinced 



TRUE MANLINESS. 31 

of error, duty requires obedience to conscience 
— according to the best light obtainable. — Ed.] 

TfiE MIND. 

"There is nothing great in the world but man; there is nothing 
great in man but mind." — Hamilton. 

"The mind's the measure of the man." 

—Watts. 

Phrenology teaches that the brain is the or- 
gan of the mind ; that is, the mind acts 
through the sensitive nerve-mass, encased 
within the cranium, called the brain. In the 
exercise of the brain in asserting the mind, 
much blood flows from the heart, purified and 
strong, to enable the brain, through its life 
thus sustained by the blood, to perform its 
work. Clearness of mind depends upon the 
purity of the blood which the heart sends 
bounding to the brain. The very best care of 
the body in the use of wholesome food and 
drink, pure air for breathing, and cleanliness 
by bathing (the entire body) is demanded, if 
we would be "clear-headed," doing our best 
thinking at all times, 

The brain does not make the thought but 
helps or hinders the mind as the blood flowing 
through the brain is pure or impure. Mind is 
something more than brain action ; it is an el- 
ement of the man which is spiritual in its na- 
ture and personal in character. The mind acts 
independently or through the suggestion of 
persons and things. We may easily under- # 
stand that our companions can and do influ- 



32 TRUE MANLINESS. 

ence our thinking", and that we can also think 
quite independently of all associations. 

Boys are easily influenced to think and act 
"with the crowd." The type of conversation 
heard in any group of boys is found to be an 
evidence of how little independent thinking is 
sometimes done in boy-life. Here is a grave 
problem for boys and for teachers and parents. 
The writer desires to awaken such an interest 
in the reader's mind that he may see and feel 
how very important it is to do good, strong, 
independent thinking. 

We can think independently if we will ! and 
for the strengthening of manhood we must do 
it. It is true that we are social beings and 
therefore do not want to refuse entirely to be 
influenced by our associates, but we must 
train ourselves to be under complete self-con- 
trol in the choice of thoughts, whether we fur- 
nish our own thoughts or allow them to be 
suggested by others. To train our minds we 
must use our wills. Let us grasp this dis- 
tinction and hold it: Good men must be filled 
with good thoughts; bad men are filled with 
bad thoughts. Some one has said that you 
"sow a thought and reap an act, sow an act and 
reap a habit, sow a habit and reap a character, 
sow a character and reap a destiny," that is, 
settle forever your dwelling-place in keeping 
with the character finally fixed through a life 
developed from the kind of thinking you have 
done ! Solemn thought when we meditate up- 
on the danger there is that boys may be low- 
minded, base and wilfully wicked. 



TRUE MANLINESS. 33 

It is an old saying- that "You can not hinder 
crows flying- over your head, but you can pre^ 
vent their building nests in your hair." Ap^ 
plying the thought in this homely adage we 
may readily admit that whatever thoughts are 
presented to u s by associates, the printed page 
or prompted from within — perhaps the growth 
of thoughts from former seed-thinking — we 
may reject or accept. Our judgment should 
be educated to distinguish quickly between 
the good and bad, and once deciding that a 
thought is not good, order it away. 

Keep no company with bad thoughts. 

"How can I have good thoughts?" some boy 
will ask. The rule here laid down will go a 
long way toward giving the victory complete 
to every boy who really wants to be a thought- 
conqueror : Resolve to have none but good 
thoughts. Then, whenever alone, make it a 
rule to think over the very best thoughts you 
have known, leading yourself upward always 
to the thought of being a good man. It should 
be every boy's purpose to be a manly man. 
Carefully watch for the thoughts of others 
and, finding — in print or hearing an utterance 
— a thought that seems g"ood, inspiring, lay 
hold upon it and try to get something from it 
to strengthen the will to be good. Remember- 
ing that you are to entertain only good 
thoughts you must have something good to 
read, always looking for such ideas as seem to 
lift up toward noble, pure manhood. Say to 
yourself, Thou shalt entertain only good, true 
thoughts. Determine to have a good mind 



34 TRUE MANLINESS. 

and expect to improve it; expect help ft^m 
your noblest friends. Look to God for help. 

A good mind makes a good man and directs 
into safe places. It is the crown and glory of 
character. We must not forget that greatness 
can be spoken only of character, or mind qual- 
ity, the plapce filled by men and women being 
great simply because great and good minds 
are required to occupy positions which we 
usually think of as being ''up in the world." 
Dr. Watts, being severely joked for nis small- 
ness of stature, replied in this verse -. 

" Could I in stature reach the pole 
And grasp creation in my span, 
I'd still be measured by my soul : 
The mind 's the measure of the ma,*." 

Upon this the following has been written: 

" Could I in stature reach the pole," 

Declared great Watts in self-defense; — 
Man's measure is his stretch of soul, 
His character, his heart, his sense. 

" And grasp creation m my span," 
Said Mr. Watts as he affirmed 
That manhood only makes a man, 
For mind is manhood, rightly termed. 

" I'd still be measured by my soul," 
Whatever be my size or span ; 
'Tis not the lengths that reach the pole, 
It 's the power that 's in the man. 

" The mind 's the measure of the man," 
Said Mr. Watts ; and he was right : 
It 's not the measure of the span, 
But brain and soul that gives thee might. 



TRUE MANLINESS. 35 

CHARACTER. 

"Think of living ! Thy life, wert thou the pitifulest of all the 
the sons of earth, is no idle dream, but a solemn reality; it is thine 
own."— Thomas Carlyle. 

"Life is real, life is earnest." 

—Longfellow. 

Character is beyond value. That is, no man 
can estimate by our American dollars what a 
good character is worth. It is that which de- 
termines the worth of a boy, and who shall say 
how much a noble boy is worth ? A boy, soon 
to be a man ! We must remember that God 
said, "Let us make man in our image, after our 
likeness." And again, "God formed man, and 
breathed into his nostrils the spirit of life, and 
man became a living- soul." These quotations 
from the Bible enable us to reflect that God 
made man a copy of himself, and certainly 
then emphasized what man ought to be in the 
person of the Lord Jesus Christ. To think of 
the way Jesus lived and met every relation of 
life ; to notice the fact of his willingness to 
suffer and die for sinning man, enables us to 
g-et an idea of his valuation of man. God in- 
tended a man to be his worthy child. Jesus 
treated man as a friend, an associate. This 
gives us a thought of what a man ought to be. 

Having the right conception of a man, a 
manly character, it is a most noble thing for a 
boy to aspire to grow into manhood. Think- 
ing- of becoming a man, a real, Godlike man, is 
better than to dream of being (some day) a rail- 
road president, a governor, a college professor, 
a congressman, or a preacher. Little Johnnie 



36 TRUE MANLINESS. 

Talbot expressed the idea nicely, though he 
may have thought only of man's size, when he 
spoke of " being a man." An older person 
asked Johnnie, "Well, my boy, what are you 
going to be — a doctor, a lawyer, a minister, or 
what?" The reply was ready: "I dess Don bet- 
ter be a man 'fore he 's any of them." Splendid 
lesson. Yes, we must ever remember that im- 
portant places must be filled by persons who 
are noted for true manliness of character : for 
railroad and college presidents ; for lawyers, 
preachers, congressmen, we must have worthy 
and noble men. Here is a couplet from a 
poem by Holland : 

" God give us men ! A time like this demands 
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands." 

How I delight to think of a splendid boy in 
whose heart there is always cherished the 
thought that when he is grown he will be a 
good man! Thank God — and noble parents — 
for such boys. One such, when grown, de- 
clared, "I'd rather be right than president." 
Another, Prof. O. F. Frace, when superintend- 
ent of schools in a western city, was about to 
sign a remonstrance against the issuance of a 
saloon license and a "friend" was sent to tell 
him that he would lose his position in the 
schools if he dared to sign the paper. He at 
once replied : " I have sacrificed two good po- 
sitions for right, and I'm ready to lose this one 
rather than abandon manly principle." God 
bless such men. Those who show such man- 
hood must have determined in boyhood to be 



TRUE MANLINESS. 37 

right, and must have always courted right 
principles. 

A fellow-merchant is reported to have said: 
"If Arthur Tappan will allow his name to 
be put on my store and will sit in an arm- 
chair in my counting-room, I will pay him 
three thousand dollars a year." Here was a 
living salary offered for the influence of a 
manly character. 

I. REVERENCE AND RESPECT. 

Our highest conceptions of manhood are ob- 
tained from what the Bible says of man (as 
God made him) and from the character of Je- 
sus as portrayed in the gospels (Matthew, Mark, 
Luke and John). These ideas get their beauty 
and strength from the attitude of man toward 
God. In other words, man's first relation is to 
God, and his strength and beauty- of character 
is in the reverence he shows to God. A man 
may be a good neighbor in many respects and 
not look up to God in thoughtful reverence ; 
but no rounded-out character can exist with- 
out reverence for God. Certainly we belong to 
God in a very proper sense, and are incom- 
plete if we do not cherish a grateful spirit to- 
ward him who gave us life and through whose 
providence we are permitted to have all that 
we enjoy. 

To reverence God, I need hardly say, is to 
look to him as God, esteem his love, and hold 
his name — all his names and titles — as very, 
very sacred ; cultivate a tender regard toward 
him and aim ever to please him. 



38 TRUE MANI^NESS. 

Next to reverence for God comes tender re- 
gard, loving" respect for woman. Since the 
first man (Adam) every boy has had a mother 
beneath whose heart, within whose body he 
was tenderly carried for months before he saw 
the light. The mother's body was the sacred 
temple-home for the child, and for this a boy 
should have the greatest love and regard for 
his mother. Her very life was risked to give 
him birth and her love and care were all for 
him. From this relation, that a boy's mother 
bears to him, comes the duty of the boy to 
cherish true, noble respect for womanhood. 
No clean-minded boy will speak lightly of any 
woman. 

Reverence for God and manly respect for 
woman furnish a basis for character — the act- 
ive character, or character by choice. By this 
we mean that whatever disposition one may 
have been born with and which he can not 
fully change at once, there is the demand for 
choosing- and taking into one's character the 
elements which are necessary to develop him 
into a good man. 

After reverence and respect come a number 
of character-elements. Cultivate a strong self- 
respect, always holding the idea that a manly 
boy must rate himself very high, never becom- 
ing- a tool for an ignoble or mean thing-. What* 
ever would weaken another in your estimate 
would lower your own self-respect. Maintain 
manly regard for self. This suggests that 
your self-respect will exhibit your idea of a 
man, and a worthy man is one who has deter- 



TRUE MANLINESS. 39 

mined to be somebody. A worthy, noble ambi- 
tion is always commendable. Instead of re- 
pressing- the native self-hood, the ego of the 
coming- man, we should bring out the individ- 
uality, develop self-confidence, and charge re- 
sponsibility upon him. This is not teaching" 
radical individualism, nor encouraging- a 
young man to "look down on" his fellow who 
may be less fortunate in any way ; but to cheer 
on the determined and determining- manhood 
"in pressure upward bound " to useful, manly 
age, and to his associates through his exam- 
ple. The noble boy will give his fellow free- 
dom to do riis best and take chances with him. 
If the God-given impulse to be a strong 
man and make a worthy life-record in the 
earth-conflict, leads a hoy up into a larger 
place among his fellows, and he, in his 
successes, can be a blessing to them, who 
dares say that heaven will frown upon the 
man and his achievements? 

II. BE AN ALTRUIST. 

The world needed a strong man to act as 
ag-ent and "God made man" a positive indi- 
vidual, a responsible being-, a free man. To 
speak of a free man and emphasize responsi- 
bility may seem not quite clear, but all this, 
and more, is true. The strength of the man- 
hood we delight to cherish is in the two great 
halves, fitly joined in one personality — a noble, 
self-respecting- man, who entertains the idea 
of being helpful to others. Let us see. God is 
the Father of mankind. We say, " Our Father 



40 TRUE MANLINESS. 

in heaven." We are children of one family — 
brothers and sisters in the earth-kingdom of 
the Lord. This gives us a very simple idea of 
brotherhood — interest in others. 

Personality is essential to the individual but 
to cherish personality in selfishness would de- 
feat the family idea and keep us out of harmo- 
ny. The egoist is all for self; the altruist is an 
unselfish, helping brother. God's purpose is 
delayed (in a great measure and so far as the 
one who is selfish is concerned) in every case 
where a man refuses to be a helper to his 
world. I am my fellow's brother. 

In altruism we have unselfishness, which is 
a trait of nobility, keeping the heart always in 
a state of happiness ; next is good will, an ele- 
ment of character actively seeking to have oth- 
ers blessed ; then love, pure and simple, serv- 
ing as an all-comprehending power to make 
others "feel at home" and realize the meaning 
of the poet in the words, 

11 Blest be the tie that binds. 
Our hearts in mutual love." 

In the poem found on another page is this 
stanza : 

Be an active, earnest man, 
Always noble, trustful, true ; 

Help another when you can, 
For this helping strengthens you. 

Activity and earnestness are essential to an 
altruistic spirit, and we would not think our- 
selves noble if w^ were untrue. The exhorta- 
tion, "help another," is the essence of altru- 
ism, and is spoken of as strengthening the 



TRUE MANLINESS. 41 

helper, not as a means to selfishly gain some- 
thing - , but as a fact. I am a stronger man in 
all that is noble for every unselfish act I per- 
form. It is a law of life. Indeed, this is the 
law of self-sacrifice stated by Jesus the Savior 
(Mark v, 35). The giving of oneself in service 
for others is the very thing that saves the 
world. 

III. ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS. 

Building upon the elements of which we 
have written as a platform of character we 
should take notice of three things which may 
be termed a ladder to success. Our ladder 
must stand upon this four-square foundation 
of character — reverence for God, respect for 
woman, self-respect, and altruism. 

1. AN HONEST PURPOSE, which might be 
termed "a conscientious aim," is all-important 
for a growing man. An aimless life is a 
wasted life. One must have a purpose. Rev. 
Dr. Theo. T. Munger says that "purpose is a 
matter of special importance ;" and certainly 
it becomes practically all-important when we 
consider that everything is thrown away if 
left with no outlet of purpose. To be a rever- 
ent man of unselfish principle, seeking to be a 
true help-fellow, is properly the business of 
every man. In being a good man and doing 
good to others, a necessity is found for means 
and methods of operation. In strengthening 
the mind for greatest usefulness a boy should 
pursue such studies as will enable him to do 
hard thinking ; or, in other words, it is well to 



42 TRUE MANLINESS. 

train the mental faculties through the disci- 
pline of study. In applying- the developed 
mind to the needs of the world one must have 
an occupation to serve as a channel through 
which to reach his fellows. 

There is in life a law of activity. We must 
work. As altruists we must work for the com- 
mon welfare. These two laws compel us to 
to choose an occupation, which serves as an 
object toward which we move steadily. 

In boyhood days one may hold as a purpose 
a course of study which he intends to pursue 
earnestly ; or, as a special purpose, one may 
determine to learn a trade, taking only such 
studies as are necessary. An impulse is some- 
times a good thing, a prophecy of great possi- 
bilities, but we must urge our friends among 
the young men not to " drift " out into life, but 
to insist upon following an object as the term- 
inal point of a well-laid plan. One may en- 
large his purpose, strengthen it, polish it, or 
even subtract from it, but give it up — never! 

One lad set out determined as his purpose to 
be a good man, a great man and a stage-driver ! 
He failed to secure "the ribbons" to drive with 
"four-in-hand," and has never been able to an- 
nounce himself "a great man," but he succeed- 
ed in overtaking the first object in his complex 
purpose and as a good man settled over a con- 
gregation as a useful and much-loved pastor. 
The point is that one supreme purpose is suf- 
ficient and a good man, with such a purpose, 
finds opportunities for all his energies. 

In all these words upon an "honest purpose" 



TRUE MANLINESS. 43 

there is meant to be the spirit which will re- 
veal the writer's cherished desire that every 
reader's purpose will be a noble one — one that 
God can bless ; indeed, a manly, conscientious 
aim. 

2. An invincible determination is the 
second round in our ladder to success ; an ele- 
ment or factor which proves the essential con- 
tinuing-agent in attaining- success. Whatever 
of manly power available, whoever may cheer 
on the way, unless a young" man's will is tem- 
pered into an invincible determination to pro- 
ceed under the soul-prompting cry of " For- 
ward," floating "excelsior" banners overhead, 
dreaming of the delights at the top of the lad- 
der will not enable him to accomplish much 
in life's pursuits. 

The use of the will in pursuing any worthy 
object — either in developing good motives or 
obtaining outward things — and in resisting" 
the evil of the world about us, is a very im- 
portant study. A youth should early know 
the use of his will and enforce its authority in 
the rig\ht. Make it a power in persistence to 
accomplish ; make it as great a power to resist 
any and all wrong. Cultivate will-power! 
"Dare to do right." 

3. Energy, which might well be denominat- 
ed force, is another exceeding^ necessary fac- 
tor in reaching " the heights of life." We speak 
of physical force, nervous force, and of force 
of character. We wish to especially empha- 
size the thought of manly energy which, after 
all, is a combination of physical power and 



4A TRUE MANLINESS. 

mental force concentrated upon the will-power 
in driving- the purposes of life. 

In the personality of a youth who has been 
wise in preserving- himself from a waste of re- 
sources, there is a power which displays itself 
in the simplest movements. The very eyes 
gleam with the lightnings of energy. 

A chapter on the Conservation of Energy (a 
scientific term used in physics) will serve for 
further remarks and suggestions as to how "a 
youth may grow to manhood's weightier years 
and yet be youthful still." 

RED LANTERN SIGNALS— DANGER. 

"The devil tempts most men, but idlers tempt the devil. "— 
Talmage. 

"A young man is not far from ruin when he can say without 
blushing, ' I don't care what others think of me.' " — Hawes. 

I like to study trainmen's regulations. Any 
thought of a railway train is strongly inspir- 
ing, everything- about it being so full of mean- 
ing, from the "steaming up" of the "dead" en- 
gine, through the train make-up, the load of 
traffic, the "orders" to run, whistle, bell- ring 
and so forth, the movements signifying intel- 
ligent life, great power, quick work, and all in- 
dicating the law of activity and service upon 
which our life is built. Activity indicates, or 
rather verifies life. Inactivity means death. 
And yet, correctly speaking, there is no such 
thing as inactivity. The mind is self-acting, 
yet to have free-play and prove helpful the 
mind must be under the direction of intelli- 
gent will. The activity of mind, resulting 




mM$k 



46 TRUE MANLINESS. 

from the sheer force of necessary mental 
action spurred on by chance environment is as 
death-dealing- as inactivity itself ; even more 
so, since the lazy individual who does not di- 
rect his thought by aspiring* impulse and 
good judgment, permits himself to assimilate 
the spirit of the idlers uncultivated ideas. 

The red-lantern signal that we see in railway 
service means " danger," and calls for a stop 
to the train. No trainman may disregard a 
red-lig-ht or red-flag signal. It always means 
danger, and therefore, stop! The first signal- 
light of danger that your friend, the author, 
wishes to hold up to your view is that point- 
ing out the extreme insecurity of an idler's 
life. Activity is essential to life. The Lord 
Jesus used these words, "I must work" (John 
ix, 4), as indicating the powerful conviction of 
his manly life. This law calls for the wise di- 
recting of our physical, mental and moral 
forces, applying life itself to the doing- of that 
which is useful and g*ood. 

Resolve never to be an idler. If your friends 
need help offer to be a helper, always proving* 
your willingness to be of service by th^e readi- 
ness with which you tender your heart and 
hands. Be courteous and manly. If your own 
work and the helping of friends does not take 
all your time — aside from necessary study, 
sleep and recreation — make it a rule to find 
employment for the time at your disposal in 
some place where morals are safest, and do 
the work of such choosing with the spirit of 
goodwill, remembering that you are self-em- 



TRUE MANLINESS. 47 

ployed to do work which shall serve to keep 
you out of temptation. I warn you against 
idleness as a good physician would warn you 
against the small-pox. 

If you are floating- on the stream of time 
rather than directing- your course with manly 
intelligence, you must soon feel a restlessness 
of spirit which will most likely plunge you in- 
to wrong--doing, or else you will fall a prey to 
evil suggestions from other idlers whose very 
occupation of "do-nothingism" will attract 
you to them. To become an associate of idlers 
very soon destroys manliness and self-respect, 
for the lack of the inspiration of being- nobly 
employed quickly results in a feeling- of emp- 
tiness of life, and this is the basis of reckless- 
ness, the starting-point on the highway to a 
ruined life. The manly boy can not have full 
respect for idlers, street-loafers, dry goods-box 
whittlers, and having- made a low estimate of 
such characters, to become one of them is to 
throw self-respect to the winds. Don't do it. 

Court occupation, seek inspiring- thought 
and cherish the regard of others. In early 
boyhood days (when about ten years old) the 
author received much help from a lesson in 
McGuffey's Fourth Reader, an article written 
by Hawes entitled "Love of Applause." The 
line from that lesson which has been retained 
in memory is this: "A young- man is not far 
from ruin when he can say without blushing-, 
'I don't care what others think of me.'" The 
writer was careful to distinguish between 
merely doing- the things that other people do 



48 TRUE MANLINESS. 

(for to do as others do would sometimes lead 
to great evil), and being- actuated by due re- 
gard for the good opinions of noble persons. 

David Crockett said, "Be sure you are right 
then go ahead." Mr. Crockett's pithy saying is 
meant to encourage perseverance, care being 
taken to be right. It is not unmindful of the 
sound opinion of well-disposed persons. In 
the struggle of life up through boyhood's 
earnest years it is well to heed many a lesson 
from the opinions of others. But of course no 
one is instructed to hesitate about the right, 
waiting to consider what this one or that one 
will say. Facing duty with a heart ready to 
obey any righteous call, we should never wait 
to learn what the result in the minds of our 
friends may be. Better lose "good opinion" 
and "be right, with God and the angels" than 
have the flattering words of "good boy" from 
those who have no courage to do the right. 

It is well for youth to counsel with ag-e and 
experience, and to consider the advice of par- 
ents, teachers, ministers. No boy may be in- 
different to the opinion of father or mother ; 
yet it sometimes happens that fathers do not 
always do right, and mothers sometimes give 
unwise counsel. Teachers and preachers are 
not infallible. However, as a rule, the advice 
of all these is helpful. 

In the printed instructions for railway train- 
men among other things, we find this wise ad- 
vice: Take no risk ; if in doubt, take the 
SAFE SIDE. How important, how simple, how 
safe ! So to our boys who read these pag-es we 



TRUE MANLINESS. 49 

come to say that while an occasional idler 
might escape ruin, and once in a while a 
young- man might say, "I don't care what oth- 
ers think of me," and escape the general re- 
sult of ruined self-respect ; there is great dan- 
ger, the doubt always being against the risk 
of idleness and disregard for good opinions — 
the trainmen's rule applying with force: TAKE 
NO RISK; KEEP TO THE SAFE SIDE. 

The seed of evil floating in the breeze or up- 
on cigaret smoke finds ready soil in the idler's 
mind and heart and will surely bring forth a 
crop, a most wretched crop of wickedness, and 
the lowered self-respect which " does n't care" 
for the cheering words of "Well done, noble 
boy," will soon result in debased manhood. 
The only hope for the reverse becoming true 
is that the interposing power of God's love 
may enter the life to change it thoroughly — 
the regenerating, transforming principle of 
God's life starting the soul out upon a higher 
road of purpose, leading to progress, happi- 
ness and peace. 

Idleness is ruinous to body and mind on 
general principles; but it is extremely ruin- 
ous in that a hundred things may enter the 
idler's mind, any one of which is destructive 
in its nature. 

We take on the character of our companions. 
Profanity goes with idleness. Evil thoughts 
infest the idler's mind, and bad, coarse pur- 
poses capture the heart of the idler. Be busy, 
we repeat, and cherish the opinions of noble 
men and women. 



50 TRUE MANLINESS. 

The power of a boy to resist bad thought is 
in proportion to his faithfulness in giving- evil 
no encouragement. The purpose to be useful 
and strong is a means of defeating evil sug- 
gestions. But our ideas of being occupied are 
sometimes vague. The old couplet, 

"All work and no play, 
Make Jack a dull boy," 

hints at necessary recreation. Plenty of study, 
plenty of work (physical exercise in doing 
something useful), plenty of sleep and plenty 
of play (physical exercise in doing something 
pleasurable), should result in building up a 
strong man — strong in physical power, in will, 
in noble thought. 

The earnest desire to be level-headed, sensi- 
ble men, persistently held, will result in the 
attainment of the desire. 

FURITY TrIE LAW OF LIFE. 

" My strength is as the strength of ten 
Because my heart is pure." 

—Tennyson. 
" Keep thyself pure."— Paul to Timotheus. 

Keep upon your tongue pure speech, 

In your thoughts allow no lust ; 
Manly life's within your reach- 
Do not grovel in the dust. C.E.W. 

"Danger ! '"' is a cry to occasion alarm. It is 
a call for quick thought and steadj^, persistent 
purpose to save from ill consequences. If a 
father should tell his son that Johnnie Jones 
was going along the highway that passes 
through the Bigwoods belt, and that suddenly 



TRUE MANLINESS. 51 

there rushed out from the dense woods border- 
ing- both sides of the road a ruffian from 
whose revolver came flashes of fire and whiz- 
zing- bullets, which deal out death, the son 
would be dull indeed if he could refrain from 
the exercise of curiosity and even intense anx- 
iety as to the result upon Johnnie Jones. And 
should the narrator of the incident state fur- 
ther that one of the leaden missiles pierced 
the youth's heart, the conclusion, driven to the 
mind of the anxious son, whose blood would 
almost boil at hearing such words, would be 
that the road through the woods had proven 
dangerous unto death, and unavoidably the 
wish would course through the young fellow's 
thoughts that Johnnie Jones had known the 
danger lurking in the wood and gone upon his 
errand by some other way. A story like this 
is exciting. It has a tendency to create pict- 
ures of all sorts of schemes for making the life 
of man more nearly safe. Benevolent and no- 
ble are the thoughts that attempt to devise 
ways and means whereby our fellows may be 
protected in life and mind. 

There is the picture of a path through a 
dense forest whose overhanging boughs shut 
out the light, and afford an opportunity for 
brigands to lie in wait, the conditions making 
life itself uncertain, simply because a passer, 
by is at the great disadvantage of not being 
quite able to see what may be lurking*. The 
way is through this forest as a fact and, once 
upon the path, one has no choice but to go 
forward. The ease with which ruffians may 



52 TRUE MANLINESS. 

hide along* the path, and the difficulty of es- 
cape for the passer-by, if attacked, reveal a 
striking resemblance to the pathway of youth 
throug-h which a boy is driven by his growing- 
powers, from boyhood to noble manhood. 

In the aspiring boyhood years, when youth 
is most easily impressed, dang-ers lurk on 
every hand to assail the young- life and waste 
its powers. The ignorance of this period of 
uninformed youth makes it doubly dangerous 
because " for lack of light " upon the problem 
of boy-life the young- heart may be ensnared 
into the loss of manly life. The death-dealing- 
work, more awful than "cold lead whizzing-, 
powder-forced," to destroy physical life, once 
being incorporated with the powers and pas- 
sions of the boy, the end is not far. 

It is to warn, arouse, inform and save the 
noble boys, whom we hope to reach, that we 
snatch time away from a busy life, already 
quite too full of work for common comfort; 
and in writing these pages the ever-recurring- 
thoug-ht is, "How can the precious but endan- 
gered boys be so wisely and fully instructed 
as to cause them to realize the sacredness of 
manhood and the manly relations of life?" 

As a teacher since before nineteen years of 
age it has been a cherished burden of heart to 
the writer to arouse the most manly emotions 
found within boyhood and young- manhood 
and by giving- intelligent direction, to save the 
boys — the husbands and fathers of our bright 
tomorrow. 

In the matter of boyhood, as the introduc- 



TRUE MANLINESS. 53 

tion to manhood, ignorance is dangerous. A 
boy knows that he is a boy, but he is, in a very 
large measure, ignorant of what that means. 
His father and mother ought to have begun 
early to explain to him the meaning of his 
boyhood. The cruel and culpable wrong of 
allowing boys to go groping on toward man- 
hood, picking up distorted facts, and half- 
truths, and vicious ideas from vile stories and 
vulgar lies, taught by the wicked, is a solemn 
fact for which parents must answer, for the 
full worth of their boys, lost and undone by 
reason of the neglect of those who were made 
responsible stewards for the boys' characters. 

Ignorance is dangerous and True MANLI- 
NESS comes now to enable boys, through the 
counsel herein given, to avoid the calamity of 
others. We come to tell the boys that being a 
boy means the possibility of manhood, and 
that manhood may become fatherhood in 
after years, when some fair and womanly wo- 
man shall be found as a companion and wife, 
provided the powers that constitute manhood 
are preserved sacredly for God's purpose of 
perpetuating the race. 

Long, long ago men learned that all forms 
of life are from an egg. Scientists teach us 
now that every grass, every plant with flowers, 
every fish, reptile, bird, beast ; the puppy, the 
kitten, the little colt, develops from an egg. 
Millions and millions of eggs (ova) are neces- 
sary to continue the races of plants and of an- 
imals, including mankind, and all eggs are 
produced in organs which we term ovaries. 



54: TRUE MANLINESS. 

Every perfect female (mother) — in plant life or 
in the animal kingdom — has one or more ova- 
producing- organs, or ovaries. 

These words have already furnished the hint 
that there is in every kind of life " male and 
female," as the Bible phrase gives it. The 
female is the mother-side of the life-giving 
pair, and the male is the father-side. The 
organs of both male and female, having for 
their office the development of the species (the 
race), are called sexual organs. 

The male organs of generation, or sexual 
parts constituting the man element of the boy, 
must be kept sacred to the use assigned in 
God's great plan of the race. Let us approach 
this study in most respectful, reverent mood, 
doing our thinking as chastely as though 
mother were giving the lessons, and we were 
in the immediate presence of the divine Father. 
Why not? We are manly boys or men and 
therefore would be pure-minded gentle men. 

God has committed to us a very grave re- 
sponsibility in this power to co-operate with 
him in perpetuating the race. How solemn, 
sublime, god-like ! We certainly should feel 
the weight and worth of the privilege. 

In thus committing the life of the race to us 
the Creator has infolded life into life, so that 
in fertilizing the ova there must be life itself 
in the fluid which is in the man, and therefore 
there is in this life-producing fluid all that 
shall unfold in the new life (which is to become 
a man or woman). The great oak tree has 
gathered up building material from the earth 



TRUE MANLINESS. 55 

and the air, but the life and kind of tree, in- 
cluding- its possibilities, were all encased in 
the little acorn, the seed. Wonderful possibil- 
ities are there. So in the seed-life of man 
there is the condensed manhood, the essence 
of the physical, mental and moral man drawn 
from the whole being- and which, in passing 
from him, carries away of himself his best ele- 
ments. Not a great weight or bulk is at any 
one time thus thrown off, but measured by an 
estimate of life-powers how great is the loss ! 
and so, frequent losses soon destroy the man. 
Here again is our cry of danger. If it is wrong 
to destroy human life — and it is certainly aw- 
ful wickedness to waste human life and its ac- 
companying possibilities — it is all important 
that the seed of life be saved to perform 
only God's purpose. 

The life-seed of which we are speaking is 
gathered from all the human system and 
stored up within the body in places specially 
provided for it. As it goes on accumulating- 
all the time the thought arises that the fluid 
must be used or else wasted. But God's wis- 
dom has met all this. The system takes it up 
and uses all surplus seed-fluid within itself 
(the system). The greater masculine powers 
furnish the g-reater life-force for all of nature's 
demands throughout the physical and mental 
being-. Man is a conservator of life and is 
charged with saving- for proper use all his 
powers. There must be no unnatural excite- 
ment of the sexual organs. "Hands off" is the 
order from the conviction of best manhood, all 



56 TRUE MANLINESS. 

handling being- limited to bathing- for cleanli- 
ness. Whatever calls the blood unduly to the 
sexual parts tends to excite, and care must 
therefore be exercised in bathing; and to pre- 
vent friction from the clothing, etc. 

Man is a trinity. There is the physical man, 
the body, which is called "the house we live 
in." This is "the man for action." Next we 
notice the man of thought, "the thinker;" the 
man of ideas. He thinks for and directs the 
actions of the physical man. Then comes the 
moral man, the spiritual being-, who is the per- 
son of feeling and conduct in things right and 
wrong. This is not the classification usually 
met with in our philosophies, but it serves to 
get man before us in the three-fold aspect of 
dangers that beset him. Now, if in life-giving- 
to perpetuate the race, there must g-o forth an 
essence which is to produce a being-, physical, 
mental and moral, certainly this life-essence 
must be drawn from these three elemental di- 
visions of the man who furnishes the seed, 
Then much sexual excitement wastes much 
life-essence, so that the three-fold man, with 
all his powers, is being- drained of his very 
life. Tissot, a noted author, declares that one 
ounce of this life-force equals in physical val- 
ue forty ounces of blood ! The strong-est, rich- 
est and finest chemical elements of the body 
are used in its formation. The waste of the 
blood prevents the expression of the spirit, be- 
numbs the action of the mind and kills the 
body. Blood-letting- ends the life. But this 
element is secreted from the blood, using the 



TRUE MANLINESS. 57 

purest life in it. Therefore, whatever wastes 
this, taps the blood-vessels and thus aims a 
death-blow at the physical life of the man. 
Consequently, sexual excitement resulting- in 
nerve-shock and loss of vitality is extremely 
dangerous to the physical man. 

The finest material in the system is the 
nerve-cells. The operation of mind through 
nerve-action is mysterious, marvelous, but is 
sufficiently understood to assure us that a 
clear mind must manifest itself through a 
healthy nervous system. Anything that weak- 
ens the nerve-elements vitiates the mind and 
lowers the thought. Impure thought will of 
itself weaken the thinking powers ; and what- 
ever drains the nervous system speedily ruins 
the mind. The law of the transmission of life 
involves the expenditure of nerve-force and 
mental power and must, therefore, heavily 
draft the thought-power. The frequent ex- 
penditure of these forces would soon impair, 
if not destroy, our man of thought. No young 1 
man can long endure the loss, even only once 
in awhile, without his mind showing the weak- 
ening effect — incoherenc} 7 of thought, defective 
will-power, and moral carelessness. This is 
the second great danger. 

The next point of extreme danger is to the 
goodness of the young man, the moral man, if 
you please. Excitement of the sexual function 
in thought carries with it weakened moral 
powers. The creative faculty has for its mis- 
sion also the carrying of moral force, charac- 
ter-basis, to the new life, and to do this, in the 



58 TRUE MANLINESS. 

simple law of transmission, the moral power 
of the man who secretes the seed-fertilizer is 
drawn upon to charge the new life with the 
moral, spiritual element * The greater danger 
to the moral manhood is in the fact that the 
whole process of waste is a violation of God's 
law (written in the whole being of man and in 
the Bible, Genesis xxxviii, 9, 10; Matt, v, 28; Ex- 
odus xx, 14, and other scriptures), and that in 
itself it destroys the violator. The keener mor- 
al sense is blunted, conscience fails to check 
the thought of wrong, and impurity, having 
assailed the manhood, invading the secret and 
sacred realm of sex-life, pulls down and casts 
into the dust of moral meanness, the man who 
has trifled with God's great law of life. 

MASTURBATION. 

To warn fully of the dangers along boy- 
hood's path we must add to these cautions aw- 
ful facts of common experience to many and 
in the observation of all. 

Any unnecessary handling of creative or- 
gans is so vulgar in itself that any boy must 
feel the lowering of the moral tone to give it 
even a thought. But because boys often do 
this very thing, however vile it may seem to 
them, we are called upon to utter words of 
warning. Usually the foundation for this evil 
practice is impure thought, prompted by the 
words of some ignoble or thoughtless boy. 

*It should be clearly understood that the wise exercise of any 
faculty, in pursuit of worthy objects, can not weaken the moral 
powers, " Waste " refers to perversions. Use is not waste. 



TRUE MANLINESS. 59 

Often the practice is begun in thoughtlessness 
— the clothing- causing an itching of the parts, 
the blood flows into the region so strongly 
that the mind becomes unduly excited in that 
direction. At the time when the boy is passing 
into manhood, the age of puberty, we usually 
say, there is likely to be a feeling of fulness in 
the sexual parts, and his attention may be ea- 
sily turned to sexual things. This is the time 
when parentage becomes possible.* But at 
this time such manliness of spirit ought to di- 
rect a boy as to guard against giving over to 
any temptation to excite in any way the gener- 
ative organs. Were boys more thoughtfully 
instructed before puberty many of them 
would keep clear of the vicious habit of self- 
abuse forever. 

Any excitement by handling is to start a 
practice which easily becomes a habit, for the 
simple reason that the parts are extremely 
sensitive to the touch. 



*"A noticeable alteration now takes place in the boy's voice. 
After a time it settles into a deep chest tone. The mind acts with 
new vim and brightness. The young man feels as if he could al- 
most tread the air. Hope and courage are booming, andto what- 
ever occupation he turns his attention, he enters into it with vigor 
and energy."— True Manhood, by E. R. Shepherd. 

" The soprano voice becomes the deep bass or ringing tenor ; 
perhaps the change produces the thunder-toned orator; it cer- 
tainly should produce the silver-voiced lover. And all this be- 
cause the testicles develop normally and secrete fertile semen 
which, being again reabsorbed into the general system, and by 
reason of its reflex stimulating influence over the entire system, 
enables a youth to stand up like a creature in the image of God ; 
and when he hears the call, 'The world wants men: large-hearted, 
manly men,' he instinctively and cheerfully responds, * Behold, 
here am I ; send me.' "—Talks, by Dr. Lyman B. Sperry. 



60 TRUE MANLINESS. 

Even if no emission* should result from the 
friction by handling - , the very thing- itself is 
debasing, and soon brings the masturbator to 
groveling. What sight for pity when passing 
a group of boys to notice unmistakable signs 
of self-abuse in the faces of those given to the 
habit ! We pity those who were drawn into 
the snare by reason of the neglect of parents. 

One would think that if boys fell into the 
practice, the foolish, hurtful habit would soon 
be broken through the assertion of manliness 
itself. But often this is not the case. Thou- 
sands are today dragging through life with 
the flames of vile passions fast consuming 
what there is left of manhood. The vulgar as- 
sociations of wicked boys, the foul story, the 
unmanly thoughts entertained of womanhood 
are fuel to the flames. Other thousands have 
been drawn into the fierce fires and fully con- 
consumed ! and their places are being filled 
by others who follow closely in their wake — 
doomed to death by lust ! 

This vice is so awful in its effects in every 
way that no good father can help feeling im- 
pressed with a disposition to strike terror into 
the mind of any boy who has become habitu- 
ated to the vile practice.*)* 

*There is a vicious idea abroad that sexual excitement, howev- 
er produced, which does not result in emission, is harmless. It 
is an erroneous idea. The loss of nerve force in prolonged sexual 
excitement may be greater than that produced by seminal loss. 

fit exhausts the body, and those at all acquainted with the 
nature of this function need not be told that few other things are 
equally exhausting A hard day's work does not equally pros- 
trate and fatigue It enfeebles the mind Those who would 



TRUE MANLINESS. 61 

It inflames the whole system. Life itself is 
tapped and it is only a matter of brief time 
when the whole man must fall a prey to the 
viciousness of his impure practices. But 
while life is "hanging- on" the victim of this 
habit easily falls into the snares of most other 
sins. The moral manhood is very soon so 
weakened that any- law of God or man has but 
little reg-ard from him who has assailed him- 
self in his most sacred function as a man. He 
has defaced, in himself, God's image. 

Loss of vitality through this vice results in 
lack of power to fix the attention, loss of self- 
control, vivacity ; vision and hearing- become 
dull; the voice soon loses its manliness of 
tone ; countenance becomes coarse ; expres- 
sion wretched ; pimples and blotches disfig-- 
ure the face, and the victim usually betrays a 
sneaking attitude. The reports of insane asy- 
lums reveal the sad fact that these institutions 
are filled with the "wrecked remains" of vic- 
tims. A most pitiable sight is the man of 
strong- frame, tottering- under the burden of a 
ruined mind, resulting- from the secret vice of 
uninformed youth, the product of parents' un- 
wise law that ignorance affords security. 

The partial list of dangers here pointed out 

write, or speak, or study must avoid the indulgence or else 

die It will not, perhaps, kill outright. It will first weaken 

the garrison of life, and thus open the door for disease to come in 
and attack the weakest part, and complete the work of death in 

the name of other diseases Ask any medical man and he will 

tell you that no other cause of disease equals this, either as to 
number, or aggravation, or difficulty of cure."— Amativeness, by 
the late Prof. 0. S. Fowler. 



62 TRUE MANLINESS. 

ought to be sufficient warning- for any reader 
that masturbation must be forever prohibited; 
that the generative organs must be guarded 
cleanly, sacredly, for manhood's future estate 
in family life ; that no impure thought must 
be allowed to lodge in the mind, no coarse 
word given utterance. The charge is: Be 
manly boys, pure-minded men. 

The thought of loss of physical life is not as 
sad as the thought of wrecked moral charac- 
ter. Man is in the "likeness of God" in char- 
acter — if noble, pure, reverent — and to destroy 
that likeness by sin of any kind is a furnish- 
ing for a dark, dark picture. 

The author once met a young man who had 
become impure in his associations and prac- 
tices. He still bore the marks of having been 
a bright boy, a possible man of ability. But 
in conversation about training boys to purity 
and noble manhood he, urging that more care- 
ful instruction should be given boys, added 
these significant words touching himself: "I 
am a wreck, at twenty-two; I'm a wreck!" I see 
his countenance still, looking up as the pict- 
ure of crushed manhood making appeal to 
save the boys from moral death by showing 
them how to be grand, good men whom moth- 
ers and sisters may honor and love. 
A PURITY PLEDGE. 

Henceforth, God helping me, I will keep 
myself pure in thought, word and action, 
and I will treat every woman as I wish oth- 
er men to treat my mother, my sister, my 
wife, my daughter. — Mrs. Leavitt. 



TRUE MANLINESS. 03 

COMRADESHIP. 

" We are members one of another."— St. Paul. 

The law of development through surround- 
ing- influences holds the boy responsible for 
what he allows added to or taken from his 
character, after he may choose for himself. 
The boy takes charge of himself at this point. 
Whatever in earlier surroundings has modi- 
fied thought and character will, if continued, 
influence him in the same way. Wholesome 
food, good books, clean, comfortable clothes, 
upright company and pure thinking will help 
and strengthen his character. 

A boy longs for company. Association is a 
law of life. To be a comrade to some noble 
boy is inspiring. To be made, by another's 
choice, his companion, is a mark of high re- 
gard. To offer to be a true yoke-fellow is to 
offer to be of manly service — helpful, uplifting, 
ennobling. 

Choose an associate with the full under- 
standing that he will help or hinder, strength- 
en or weaken you. Our associates take on 
character from us. How very important that 
we be full of good, the overflow of which shall 
enrich our comrades. And we take on charac- 
ter from our associates. How very careful we 
should be that we choose companions from 
whom our characters may receive added force, 
nobility, uprightness. 

If little chance is afforded a boy to choose a 
noble companion without taking his father as 
such comrade, or mother, or both, he may find 



64: TRUE MANLINESS. 

that here is opportunity for sweetest fellow- 
ship. Too many boys are strangers to father 
and mother ! Too many boys hie away to field 
and forest in early morning", returning- home 
for meals and a bed at night, leaving father 
and mother to long for the fellowship of their 
boy ! Reader, do not hold yourself away from 
your father. Make him your comrade — at least 
one of your comrades. If he seems too busy 
to afford you as much time as you would like, 
beseech him to grant you a portion of his time 
each week for special comradeship. Should 
any reader be the unfortunate one whose fa- 
ther has "gone home," leaving his mother a 
widow, with a widow's care, I beg of such a one 
to be a companion to mother. Choose her for 
your comrade, for she feels the need of manly, 
noble fellowship, such as a great-hearted son 
can offer. 

Sometimes a boy ought to choose his sister 
for his chum. It is not always that the manly 
fellow can make sister Mary or Katie his spe- 
cial comrade, but frequently this is the thing 
to do. Often the brother must be as a father 
to the girls whose father is tied up with street- 
railway service and the like (in which so very 
many hours of service are rendered), or per- 
haps "is no more," and in other instances 
mother desires "the boy" to be chaperon for 
Minnie or Alice who wishes to g-o to the school 
entertainment or the Endeavor meeting*. In 
these spheres any boy with manly spirit will 
"rise to the demands of the occasion" prov- 
ing himself a worthy son and brother, But to 



TRUE MANLINESS. 65 

be a real chum to sister Mary or Maggie, mak- 
ing- her his counselor-at-large, always render- 
ing full service in tender fellowship — this is 
the ideal brotherhood in any home. 

However, we would not restrict the boys to 
home associates alone, for boys want boys in 
early youthful life as much as boys want girls 
in later life ; and it is of boy-comradeship we 
wish to write. Boys can build character for 
one another very nicely and make stable man- 
hood grow where otherwise there might be a 
big crop of dudish weakness. True comrade- 
ship involves manly character to offer in serv- 
ice, close friendship which must mean deep 
well-wishing, thoughtfulness, and put-your- 
self-in-his-place law, by which to determine 
one's demands upon his yoke-fellow. 

Since we assimilate the character of our as- 
sociates it is essential that we study carefully 
what sort of thought and life we would have 
poured into our being to be incorporated into 
the man who shall stand at the judgment-bar 
of God and conscience to meet the record of 
deeds done. Having considered what elements 
of character we wish to utilize, and those we 
would discard, we are prepared to go out into 
our field of acquaintanceship and select a boy 
worthy to "tie to" and enlist him as a comrade. 
Here is responsibility — choosing a chum, dis- 
carding a fellow who might wish to associate 
with us ! Choosing a yoke-fellow implies tak- 
ing a boy very close to one. Rejecting a boy 
as hardly safe to fellowship does not— should 
not— mean that we refuse to be his helper at 



66 TRUE MANLINESS. 

times, even oftentimes. We are under obliga- 
tion to be a helper to any and all. Comrade- 
ship grants privileges denied to the majority, 
so far, as the one choosing is concerned. But 
he may find abundant opportunity to lend his 
influence to build up many others whose pur- 
poses and spirit are not considered desirable 
to incorporate into one's character. 

Has a boy vicious habits? Is he profane, 
vulgar, lazy, dishonest? Is he unworthy the 
society of your sister, your mother? If so, you 
had better let him pass by. Cheer him on by 
words of encouragement to better things, but 
such a lad is not fitted to be your comrade un-. 
til thoroughly reformed. 

Remember that comradeship is very close 
fellowhip and ought to be of a pure and manly 
type, into which one's mother or sister may be 
invited to join. Choose a high type of manly 
boy for a yoke-fellow. Be a worthy comrade 
yourself. 

COMRADES, ATTENTION ! 

Keep upon your tongue pure speech, 

In your thoughts allow no lust ; 
Manly life's within your reach — 

Do not grovel in the dust. 

Pure in thought and warm in heart, 
Fight the wrong with all your might ; 

In life's conflict bear your part, 
Daring always to do right. 

Be an active, earnest man, 

Always noble, trustful, true ; 
Help another when you can, 

For this helping strengthens you, 



TRUE MANLINESS. 67 

Say " I can," and say it strong, 
And when tempted answer " No." 

Love the pure and shun the wrong, 
And where duty calls you, go. 

In all work, what e'er it be, 

Do your best, and nothing less. 
Use your eyes the good to see; 

Make your life a power to bless. 

ALLEGIANCE TO OUR CHIEF COMRADE. 

11 We would see Jesus."— The Greeks (John xii, 21). 
We have emphasized comradeship and 
urged the supreme importance of reverence 
to God. It is left for us now to study this re- 
lation to God as we see it revealed in the earth- 
life of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not the 
place to teach theology, but we may profitably 
contemplate the Son of Mary who is also the 
Son of God, and learn how great place Jesus 
should have in all our lives. 

We see that the very closeness, the hearti- 
ness of fellowship demands that we have com- 
panions who are good, pure and true. If con- 
tact with bad boys or men will lessen our 
esteem for that which is good, or weaken us 
under temptation ; and if association with 
good persons will add to our dignity and pur- 
ify and lift higher our motives, then we 
should, as a matter of duty, seek an ideal com- 
panion, whose every relation bears evidence 
to his nobility of character; and the only such 
comrade to whom all in every age and place 
have access is the Lord Jesus. 

Notice how he bore out his relation to God; 
the reverence, the attachment, calling God, Fa- 



68 TRUE MANLINESS. 

ther, and leading a life of prayer. There is no- 
where in the record a hint that he was not a 
happy, joyous person, except as we see him in 
deep agony for the safety of others (a mark of 
greatest nobility), and withal he was much in 
prayer and often declared his purpose to do 
his Father's will. He threw himself into the 
life-needs of the people as though he loved 
men with an intense love. In his devotion to 
the Father's work and will, Jesus shows us how 
every young man, even in boyhood, ought to 
reverence God. In his close association with 
the people he shows how we should be inter- 
ested in our fellows ; how our love for others 
ought to be a burning desire for their highest 
good in everything. 

Of course Jesus could go into bad company 
to do good and not be liable to temptation as 
my young readers would be in such company 
for the company's sake ; but his going to all 
classes to heal and to help shows us how no- 
ble is the life that is spent for others. Jesus 
condemned all sin, yet loved the sinners and 
was ever ready to "lend a hand." 

A strong character is one that is set for high 
things, loves the pure and offers to serve oth- 
ers at the expense of self, and turns from all 
temptation to evil, because there is nothing in 
the character like unto the evil that tempts. 
If we have such a character, or if we heartily 
desire to have such a character, loving " the 
good, the beantiful, the true," unselfishly, we 
certainly delight to have comradeship with 
such a character, delight to contemplate the 



TRUE MANLINESS. 69 

person whose character is marked with great 
strength in noble purposes, deep, unselfish 
love, and sets stoutly against all that i.« sinful. 
Such a character had Jesus Christ. 

To ally oneself with a person whose charac- 
ter is an ideal one, keeps one in company with 
all for which the character stands. Then what 
more, or what less, can we seek for ourselves 
than a closely bound alliance with the Lord 
Jesus Christ? Sometimes we meet boys and 
young- men who are ashamed, seemingly, to 
be religious, as thoug-h being- right, noble, 
true, manly, grand and pure were shamefaced 
elements of character ! But there are hosts of 
boys, and young- men who see no object so 
worthy as that manliness which embraces the 
rig-ht, the noble, the pure. This class of young- 
manhood is glad for suggestions of higher 
manhood than may be known to it. This ele- 
ment of society is our future safeg-uard. 

The religion of the Man of Nazareth takes 
nothing- from a man but such as tends to de- 
stroy him; the faith of this Nazarene ennobles 
man's every heart-impulse. No, we must not 
be ashamed to stand up for everything- g-ood. 
Write Purit3^, Good-will, Reverence to God, in 
your lives and grow the sentiment into every 
fiber of your being-, young- men, and you need 
never look ashamed. 

He lives in the world today, thoug-h unseen 
except in the holy lives of men and women, 
and is in fullest sympathy with our every need 
just as when in the flesh he "went about doing- 
good" in Palestine. His purpose in coming- 



70 TRUE KuuXXJNESS. 

to earth was not to destroy men's lives, but to 
save them (Luke ix, 56). 

It is recorded that a missionary once preach- 
ing- to the natives, in Africa, was interrupted 
by a young- man running into the meeting and 
crying to the speaker, "Write it down in your 
book that I am Jesus Christ's man, now." And 
that avowed and noble purpose was the high- 
est conception of true comradeship that the 
mind of the young African could think of and 
possibly, the most cultured of us in America 
could not do a great deal better. "I am Jesus 
Christ's man," companion, servant, brother, 
allied with him in every great and good work, 
going- "about my Father's business!" Noble 
thought, glorious confession ! 

Christ is the Person, divine-human, who is 
the life of Christianity and the life, the love 
and "the Light of the world." His name rep- 
resents exalted, heavenly, manly character, 
and we may well sing- : 

"All hail the power of Jesus' name." 

Those who are truly enlisted under his ban- 
ner of pure manhood, stand for the highest 
ideal life for all ; lead noble lives, and inspire 
others to seek the best things. 

Blessed Jesus, Elder Brother, 

I would labor all I can 
In the interest of another. 

Carrying love to brother-man. 

For all men are still my brothers, 

Needing much a brother's love, 
And I'd spend my life for others, 

Proving true to thee above. 



TRUE MANLINESS. 71 

IN HIS NAME. 
Trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for help 
I pledge allegiance unto him my Comrade 
Chief, and promise him to strive to be like 
him, and to do whatsoever he would like to 
have me do. 

(NAME)_ 

(DATE) 



REDEMPTION OF TIME. 

•' Redeeming the time."— Paul. 

When we consider the question, "What is 
man?" we are moved with awe as we realize 
what a vast world enters into the marvelous 
entity bearing- the title, Son of Man — referring 
to any worthy member of Adam's race. Earth 
and air and sea, the mineral, vegetable and an- 
imal kingdoms, all are called upon to furnish 
material and immaterial elements to build in- 
to the growing man. God made man and still 
makes man, but in his wisdom all this work is 
accomplished according- to very precise laws # 
Man-building involves the use of all earth's 
products. The baby boy is a good start toward 
manhood, but he is not a man. The element 
of time is necessary to grow the man from the 
many other elements that in God's plan can 
be utilized for man-building-. 

In the thought of time as an essential ele- 
ment in making man there comes to bear in 
upon our consciousness, the grave importance 



72 TRUE MANLINESS. 

of taking due care of our years, months, days, 
hours, minutes ! Recklessness in the use of 
time, disregard for its value, "killing- time" 
will destroy the prospects of becoming- a 
splendid type of man. 

To meet the life-demand for wisely dealing 
with time it is necessary to realize its worth in 
a good degree. When we consider the matter 
of habit we readily see that time has played a 
large part in binding one up in what we call 
habit. In bread-making housewives speak of 
the sponge as requiring "time to rise." In a 
boy's effort to learn penmanship we are asked 
to be not too exacting as to progress, but give 
the boy time to fix the habit of correct copy- 
ing. Two very important things in man-grow- 
ing are involved in time-using : it takes time 
for the system to assimilate and appropriate 
the elements of physical and mental growth 
and also to form habits in the development of 
manly character. 

Program the Time.— In general it may be 
said that we should divide the twenty-four 
hours of the day by three, and allow eight 
hours for sleep, eight for work and eight for 
recreation. This last to include time for eat- 
ing. Then there is the division of the week. 
We believe that the week of seven days is 
God's division of time and as such should be 
regarded with reverence and used according 
to his program. "Remember the sabbath day 
to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and 
do all thy work: but the seventh day is the 
sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt 



TRUE MANLINESS. 73 

not do any work" (Exodus xx, 8-10). In the add- 
ed comment of the life and words of the Lord 
Jesus Christ we learn that the sabbath was 
made for man, and that it is lawful to do well 
on the sabbath day. It is coming- to be more 
and more acknowledged that we ought to 
make all our work and relationships har- 
monious with the Spirit of Christ. As Paul 
says (Col. iii, 17): "Whatsoever ye do, in word 
or deed, do all in the name of the Lord," and 
(1 Cor. x, 31) " Whatsoever ye do, do all to the 
glory of God." This does not obliterate the 
time-distinction which God has made, provid- 
ing for systematically coming together in 
congregations for Christian fellowship and 
worship, one day in seven. 

To redeem the time is to use it as wisely as 
we may in the demands of our life-develop- 
ment. Of course no one can determine what 
another shall do, except that the same general 
program might be used by all, and filled in 
accord with special needs. 

Daily Outline : Work, Study, Recreation. 
In the very nature of man he ought to work, 
and however lazy he may feel, or however rich 
— making it unnecessary to labor for bread — 
he should be so loyal to himself as to be occu- 
pied. The law of activity calls for work, busi- 
ness, and each program should so recognize. 

Study may be considered as work; but in the 
growing- years of early manhood it is not well 
to combine the two as one item for the time- 
schedule. Suppose that a }^oung- man has as 
signed himself a study-work, say the hig-h 



74 TRUE MANLINESS. 

school course, and pursuing- that earnestly, 
doing* extra side reading in encyclopedias and 
other works of reference, taking up all his 
time except that which he uses for sleep and 
recreation. Now we are anxious to have such 
a one place due time in his program for recre- 
ation ; but we contend that such diversion as 
the usual recreations will be insufficient to 
keep up the flow of strong- vital powers in the 
physical system. The boy who has to work to 
pay his way tnrough college so often outruns 
his classmate, supposed to be more fortunate 
(having funds provided), because the work 
plays the very important part of providing 
proper exercise for the physical system. 

Work, study, recreation are the trinity of ele- 
ments in the redemption of time which, wisely 
utilized, will develop a good man physically, 
mentally, socially, morally. 

A change from severe application to work 
or study is altogether essential ; comradeship, 
social privileges in the society of refined 
young ladies, a carriag-e ride, rowing, swim- 
ing-, croquet, and many other things affording- 
opportunity for " bringing the unused man in- 
to circulation" and to build up the powers of 
body and mind. We do not class work as rec- 
reation here, since work ought to be wearying 
toil (rest is practically impossible unless first 
we are tired), while recreation should not wea- 
ry, but rest one. If work is impossible as la- 
bor, then make work of gymnastics. But use 
the time in work, study, recreation. 

When school days are past and work be- 



TRUE MANLINESS. 75 

comes the principal item on the program, 
study ought to remain upon the schedule- 
What a boon is the Chautauqua system of 
continuing- our college work, pleasantly, prof- 
itably. It has "redeemed the time" to the sav- 
ing of many a man. 

In the week-day program supplant work 
with worship, for a Sabbath schedule. Study 
remains, the scriptures and hymns furnishing 
the text books. Instead of recreation take rest 
and you have a Sabbath day program. 

BUSINESS. 

The American noun is business. — Amos R. Wells. 
Not slothful in business.— Paul. 

Be busy. Be occupied. Use the time. This 
is the burden of the preceding* chapter, which 
carries the idea that a boy must use his time 
faithfully, as a carpenter uses helpers to erect 
buildings, in order to finish and furnish a 
man. So to be busy gives us the responsibil- 
ity of securing and developing- business. 

Business is a method of applying oneself to 
life ; it is our service rendered to society, the 
receipts from which we use to meet our "run- 
ning expenses." 

Man must put his powers to use to preserve 
them. Here, as in spiritual thing's, "he that 
saveth [withholdeth] his life [-power] shall lose 
it." The greatest physical waste is in non-use. 
Business is necessary as a means of obtaining 
food and raiment — the law of self-preservation 
coming into play to establish a business. 



76 TRUE MANLINESS. 

This accords beautifully with the law of 
general welfare. It demands of each, interest 
in the world's good. I show manliness by 
joining- in the efforts of the world-brotherhood 
to develop the earth. This helps in the choice 
of a vocation — a business. 

Many a man only reckons on how to raise 
money. As to what of personal principle he 
may sacrifice, or who may surfer through the 
evil his work may do, or through loss by his 
competition, he cares nothing. " Every fellow 
for himself," is such a man's motto. "Self- 
preservation is the first law of nature" em- 
phatically with this kind of man. This is for- 
getting the great law of life which denies the 
right to self-preservation at the possible cost 
of life to all one's fellows. " Take care of No. 
1," is viciously selfish and the opposite of a 
family spirit, which ought* to inspire us all to 
maintain respectable selfhood to serve others 
needing our sympathy. The altruistic appli- 
cation of one's life broadens it, strengthens it. 

That should not be countenanced as a busi- 
ness, however profitable, which injures others 
— saloon-keeping being a conspicuous exam- 
ple. Many young men who could fill credit- 
ably the so-called more humble spheres, have 
ruined their prospects in the effort t« shine in 
upper rooms entirely too large for their light. 

In considering the professions, the trades, 
the common — common because abundant — 
work of the world, there ought to be back of 
the purpose to choose a calling- the positive 
conviction that the worker must carry dignity 



TRUE MANLINESS. 77 

into the most humble vocation. Dignity of 
character, faithfulness to the work assigned 
as a call of duty, and determination to do it 
well, can never fail to render a high degree of 
satisfaction to the man who is engaged in any 
rightful calling. 

The best way to accept a work is to look up- 
on it as a mission given in the Divine econo- 
my, and with this reckoning endeavor to as- 
certain what the real demands of the business 
are, and from the knowledge of these demands 
go on to an analysis of the qualifications of 
the man. This brings one to deal face to face 
with the man and the mission, so that the pos- 
sibilities of success may be judged. Respons- 
ibility must be expected in proportion to abil- 
ity in the man. One should guard against 
underrating his powers. It is self-stultifying 
and is about as injurious as would be the van- 
ity that assumed too great ability. 

The counsels given here are written in the 
hope that they may serve as inspiration to 
young men, urging them on to study the ap- 
plication of themselves to life's labors in a 
courageous manly way. In the chapter on 
Character there are suggestions to help in un- 
derstanding what is needed to succeed in life. 
The foundation of character with the business 
elements named in that chapter make a good 
start for any young man. Let him resolve 
that whether he meets with success or failure, 
when coming out of business, he will have the 
man— a noble, manly man— left, with which to 
close the records. His life can not fail to be a 



78 TRUE MANLINESS. 

grand success. It is delightful to think that 
in the face of what the world called failure, 
terrible failure in the life of Jesus, Pilate, 
who sat as judge, in condemning the Lord to 
death, pointed to him and cried, " Behold the 
man !" Taking the Master, Christ, as their ex- 
ample, many men have followed on and at the 
close of a long and busy life, which the world 
has declared a failure, they could look over the 
records and feel and know that manhood was 
left them as a rich possession to take into the 
coming life. The world, with all its cold criti- 
cism has said of many such men that they 
made of life the fullest success. In Rev. Dr. 
W. F. Craft's "Successful Men of Today," he 
has shown that the manly, honest business- 
life has, too, been most successful in accumu- 
lating the material values of this world. No 
wise teacher condemns the development of the 
world's resources, but rather urges on to the 
greatest possible improvement, which must 
mean increased wealth in the world. 

Emphasis should be given the thought of 
the mission of business. If this is our meth- 
od, whatever our calling, of applying our life 
and serving society, it is equally a service 
rendered to God. Accept life's calling as a di- 
rect divine assignment. Into any common oc- 
cupation one ought to hear the "call" as much 
as into the ministry. It should come into the 
soul as a deep and abiding conviction; so 
strong, indeed, that the whole manhood is 
thereby summoned to the task, and the stand- 
ard by which one attempts his work becomes 



TRUE MANLINESS. 79 

no less than the law of righteousness. Then 
it must become comparatively easy to endure 
whatever of drudgery may be connected with 
it. Well-doing- has as its foundation what God 
would approve, rather than appearances. T&ye 
service is supplanted by the deeper purpose 
to submit the record to the Eye that pierces 
the deepest recess in which a motive may be 
hidden. A man's business should be ac- 
cepted as God's method of enabling him 
as a world-helper and brother-man to ap- 
ply himself in service for the good of all. 

READING. 

" Books are not dead things, but do contain a potency of life in 
them."— Milton. 

" Of all the things which man can make here below, by far the 
most momentous are books.'' — Carlyie. 

For a bright boy to raise the question What 
to read, is to set a task of grave responsibility 
for the one to whom he looks for the proper 
answer. This is so very important because in 
one's reading there comes instruction and as- 
sociation. Not the least of influence borne in 
upon a young life from reading is the charac- 
ter of the writer of the book. This may not 
have weight as a principle in the study of 
mathematical works, but in story and song, 
science, and history, the author stamps his 
character quite as definitely as his literary 
style. A 3^outh should read for instruction. 
As the kind of thinking we do determines our 
acts, our habits, our characters, it is only rea- 
sonable to demand of ourselves that the read- 



80 TRUE MANLINESS. 

ing that we choose shall be such as to furnish 
us with wise and good instruction. As a boy 
in this age of many books will want to read 
much more than his school studies, he should 
seek the counsel of a good man or woman in 
selecting books for general reading. Usually 
works along the line of one's study prove in- 
teresting and broaden the views obtained 
from the text books. For instance, along with 
the study of zoology, one might read Lub- 
back's "Chapters in Popular Natural History/' 
Mrs. A. E. A. Maskell's "Four Feet, Wings and 
Fins, ,, or A. B. Buckley's "Winners in Life's 
Race ; or, the Great Backboned Family." Or, 
in connection with the study of geography 
read Hezekiah Butterworth's " Zigzag Jour- 
neys." These will prove instructive and recre- 
ative. In studying a text book on the Consti- 
tution of the United States (Israel Ward An- 
drews' "Manual of the Constitution" is good) 
read Mulford's "The Nation." This is a work 
of heavy reading, but when a young man is 
sufficiently advanced to take up the study of 
the Constitution, he ought to read Mulford's 
book with deep interest. In these hints we 
have kept closely to books of study, that is, 
such books as require hard work to master. 
While we advise a boy to master the princi- 
ples of all instructive books read, there is a 
difference between studying as a task, and 
reading- along instructive lines at such times 
as one does not care to be worked for ''all he's 
worth." About the best that we can do here is 
to offer some principles by which to select in- 



TRUE MANLINESS. 81 

structive reading-. First, what to read; then 
what not to read. 

As Rev. Dr. Brand says, " No sincere Chris- 
tian can afford to spend time on a frivolous 
book." To attempt to defend a book upon the 
plea that it is harmless, is simply to condemn 
it. The young- man needs, in this age of swift- 
going life, to read good and strong thoughts 
that may aid him in meeting the demands of 
God's counsel to General Joshua — "Be strong 
and of good courage." There ought to be in 
the lines of thought in the book such a direct- 
ness, such impelling force as to crowd the 
reader forward to greater manliness. Instruc- 
tion at this period of a man's life should be 
so electrifying as to cause him to become im- 
pressive as his character comes in touch with 
others. The frivolous book, the light reading 
of the day, is just the opposite of what we here 
recommend to our bright young men. Next 
to text books should come books of "weight 
and worth," with pages filled with the spirit of 
manly character, noble aims, high conception 
of duty which, permeating the writer, overflow 
to fill the mind and heart of the reader. 

A good, manly character, writing to purify 
and strengthen manhood, will often accom- 
plish more through the latent spirit of his mo- 
tive than by any paragraph of entreaty he 
may pen. If the book is an appeal to be cour- 
ageous, the spirit of courage will be borne in 
upon the soul of the reader. This law of asso- 
ciation with the author suggests the advisa- 
bility of reading books written by good, pure, 



82 TRUE MANLINESS. 

strong- characters. As a principle, one should 
guard against reading authors of doubtful 
character. 

Reading for recreation is one of the frequent 
and necessary things. The student in mathe- 
matics, becoming weary by the strain upon 
the reasoning faculties, turns aside to poetry 
or art, it may be, and obtains rest. A man 
whose study (or work) requires much use of 
large and heavy volumes may obtain release 
from both contents and bulk of book by tak- 
ing up a pocket manual with quite other 
teachings and, tilting back in his chair, with 
head up and chest thrown out, with the easier 
breathing rest himself by change of posture 
and attitude in body and mental faculties. 
This is recreation in reading. Sometimes a 
purely mirthful book is demanded and is prop- 
er. Create a healthy appetite for reading. Do 
not yield to the clamor of mere taste for a 
class of literature, but develop an affinity for 
that kind which helps on to manhood. Some- 
times a young man secures what he is sure is 
a good book; but, finding the style rigid and 
exacting, he lays it aside. This is a mistake. 
If a boy is lazy it is his duty to overcome, by 
application, his indisposition to work; and 
when the taste for light reading would lead 
from the more difficult, but more helpful liter- 
ature, by stern resolve he should determine 
to apply himself in a way to grow a healthy 
taste for the best. 

Reading for profit involves giving attention 
to such classes of books as minister to the 



TRUE MANLINESS. 83 

needs of a growing- boy, physically, mentally, 
and morally. We commend such books as 
True Manhood, by E. R. Shepherd; Smart's 
Manual of Free Gymnastics, etc. For mental 
development the usual grammar school, high 
school and state university courses furnish 
splendid lines of reading* and study. Moral 
growth, the unfolding- of the spiritual man, 
calls for religious, or devotional reading-. If a 
boy is not religious in the sense usually meant 
by that term he should long to keep his con- 
science aroused to answer every duty's call. 
The Bible should be reverenced first of all as 
God's word and will revealed to man, and its 
study, in the easier portions, beg-un very early 
in life. The regular use of the Book of books 
will do much to help a boy on to a manly life. 
Its counsels are ever right, its lessons from 
history are wholesome, and its spirit in every 
part is devotional. 

The study of at least a few of the standard 
hymns will prove helpful, uplifting: inspiring- 
gratitude and adoration. Read the writings 
of the most devoted religious men and women 
and allow the flig-ht of their spirits, as tracked 
by their devotional utterances, to direct the 
upward flight of your deepest moral impulses. 
Every young heart needs the inspiration of 
the teachings of those who have lived near to 
and maintained their reverence for God. 

One of the ways of death is throug-h reading* 
bad books, the vehicles of perverse and unholy 
thoughts and impulses. We declare, Beware 
OF THEM ALL. Infidelity in religion and in 



84 TRUE MANLINESS. 

matters of true family love ; infidelity in wor- 
thy manhood in self, and infidelity in man- 
hood's worthiness in others ; all these and 
more of like nature, serve to do destructive 
work through the means of books and papers 
which evil minds write and wicked agencies 
scatter. Through well-laid schemes this vile 
literature reaches untaught boys and contam- 
inates them. The report of the tons of vicious 
literature destroyed by the Anti-Vice Societies 
every } r ear, through the strong arm of the law, 
hints to us how great are the chances — matde 
by shrewd fiends in form of men — that our no- 
ble boys may be made receptacles for all the 
impure and wretched printed thought, if wise 
warning is not given and heeded. 

Anything that weakens reverence for God 
and lessens respect for womanhood and for 
self is dangerous and should not be read or 
recognized. Read no book or paper whose 
motive and expression are not worthy to be 
stated in counsel with mother. Of course, 
names of books, like the titles of men, are not 
always an indication of character. The word 
novel as applying to literature, is not a safe 
guide in rejecting a book. Such books as Ben 
Hur, Black Beauty, are novels, but the motive 
of each is commendable. Books like these, 
written in thoughtful style and kept free from 
the finger-marks of sensationalism, serve a 
splendid purpose. But it is safe to say that 
for every real worthy novel, about ninety-nine 
vicious novels are issued. Therefore, the best 
method in choosing a novel that is fit to read 



TRUE MANLINESS. 85 

is to call in the counsel of well-tempered and 
devotional minds. Keep clear of bad reading 
of every type. Read to be helped and to be- 
come a helper. Read the literature of the past 
as well as that of the present. Read slowly, 
meditatively, and with the will to understand 
your author. Know his theory, and if it seems 
to prove him worthy of acquaintance, deter- 
mine to know him, at least through books. 

Read aloud, in your own room, and when 
convenient to all, in the family circle. Pro- 
voke comment from others and yourself. Re- 
member that we are aiming- to develop true 
manliness and in this task we are setting our- 
selves — the author and his readers — we are 
seeking- out every helper, are pushing aside 
every known hindrance, and cheering on the 
manly heart by urging to look up and keep 
step with the march of God in the progress 
making toward the cherished estate of noblest 
manhood, the aspiration of every bright, high- 
minded boy, the coming man. 

EDUGATION. 

A course of study assigned will not of itself, 
however well pursued in the way of memoriz- 
ing and reciting, truly educate one. Thought 
assimilated, the strengthening- of the mental 
powers and the delicate sense of perception 
and appreciation developed, all are demanded, 
or the study work fails of its object. 

The studies pursued should be so arranged 
as to assist the mental powers in unfolding- 
and strengthening themselves in the order of 



86 TRUE MANLINESS. 

their natural development. The sense of 
touch, of taste, of seeing-, of hearing- — the phys- 
ical senses, so-called — begin to be serviceable 
in earliest life. Whatever ministers to life in a 
general way and the common surroundings 
strengthen these and enable one finally, if no 
accident hinders, to show a high degree of de- 
velopment. The perceptive faculties, which 
act through the lower frontal brain region, 
just over the eyes, are needed earliest in life, 
since they have to serve in the observation of 
external objects, reckoning with the physical 
environment? the first important relationship 
to the child, As life takes on more meaning 
and external objects begin to call for some ar- 
rangement Qjher than as they happen to be 
found, comparisons must be made, causes 
sought for, effects seen, the reasoning faculties 
begin to grow in power. Later, as greater 
freedom increases responsibility, the moral 
faculty is called out and higher relations de- 
mand adjustment. 

Do not miss a moment in beginning the 
great work of developing the mind. Enlist 
every help, and appropriate whatever facts 
may serve to establish principles and assist 
processes in the mental man. 

The home affords a ,-^lace in which study 
should be done sy? ically from books 

and in the social re! of ihe home there 

may go on a very hi < ( velopment of the 
man in' manners and tastes, ver}^ important 
elements in education. If every door of op- 
portunity to attend school were closed against 



TRUE MANLINESS. 87 

a boy he ought not to allow such a condition 
of things to hinder him from obtaining- an ed- 
ucation. The physical strength being fairly 
good, the vital powers carefully preserved 
from waste, and a few hours of the twenty-four 
held sacredly for study, a few books and an in- 
vincible determination only are needed to 
prosecute the work of securing an education 
in the school sense. 

The money required in going through any 
school can be earned by any healthy boy of 
resolution. By knowing the value of money 
(and earning it helps greatly toward a realiza- 
tion of its value) and applying it where actu- 
ally needed, one will be surprised to see how 
well a bright and active boy can succeed. He 
buys necessities, lives plainly and saves. 

The course of study for any profession must 
be chosen along the line of the standards of 
the profession, to gain admission thereto, and 
the counsel of some friend in the calling chos- 
en will serve to indicate the best course to pur- 
sue. Even in the ordinary occupations of life 
one should not neglect the elevating influence 
of true education. The best possible develop- 
ment of man is what the world calls for, and 
educational work is to give growth to manly 
powers, and the business of life is the means 
or method of applying these powers. Howev- 
er humble the calling — as we usually rate the 
various employments of the world — a man 
should serve the race to the best purpose in 
the duties involved, making that relationship 
as manly by what of developed powers and 



88 TRUE MANLINESS. 

character he can put into it as possible. It is 
the manhood placed in an occupation that 
ennobles it A good body, sound mind, clear 
conscience, polished manners, real knowledge, 
good social relations and deep reverence for 
God reveal a developed man. 

SOCIETY. 

My brother's keeper? No, never ! I am my brother's brother ; 
and my sister's brother, too!— Sermon, April 22, 1894. 

How it dispels the sense of loneliness to be- 
come possessed by the broadening 1 thought 
that the whole human family is one and all we 
brothers and sisters! To surrender ourselves 
to this thought is to accept of the freedom 
that is offered us through truth. Our sense of 
fellowship is not dulled or weakened through 
the generalization of the brotherhood idea by 
its universal application; neither is it danger- 
ous to our conceptions of association for char- 
acter to ourselves or influence upon others. 
This broad, world-wide view of human rela- 
tionships carries with it a lesson of well-nigh 
overwhelming force as to the responsibility 
that comes to each of us in the individual re- 
lationship we bear to the great family of hu- 
manity. The man who entertains a thought- 
ful regard for any human being has already 
given himself in some measure to the service 
of God's family, for its good, of course, and 
must feel that his privileges carry with them 
the duty to be a genuine brother-man. Does 
it seem that this conception of human rela- 
tionship is liable to lead to a disregard for 



TRUE MANLINESS. 89 

carefully selected society ? Let us bear in 
mind that the law of association for fellow- 
ship will have greater meaning- and applica- 
tion with those who have unselfishly come to 
regard their general duty to all and through 
this reg-ard, come to seek to help others. It 
tasks one with the thought that his duty re- 
quires him to give strength and moral tone to 
the circle of society chosen for comradeship 
and co-operation. The person who goes into 
a social circle to absorb pleasure from it, and 
with little regard (other than a merely formal 
regard through the pressure of "politeness") 
for his duty to add to the enjoyment of the 
company, will generally be found to possess a 
very limited sense of love for humanity. The 
young" man who does his best to promote the 
happiness of others and to give a wholesome 
moral tone to society, will attract a like class. 
The universal brotherhood idea, that leads 
a young- man to lift up a "brother in the ditch" 
will pour hopeful, helpful life into his circle 
of fellowship. His manly reg-ard for the low- 
est human being will prove a manliness of re- 
g-ard with emphasis toward all those who are 
of his select company. It is a law of mind and 
action that one who can manifest hard-heart- 
edness toward a distant brother can not be ex- 
tremely tender-hearted toward a nearer com- 
panion. The soul gentle and kind to all must 
be g-entleness, kindness itself, and will there- 
fore be helpfully pleasant, companionable and 
strengthening to a circle of friends. 
We desire to emphasize the proper attitude 



00 TRUE MANLINESS. 

of the young- man toward the sisterhood of so- 
ciety. The question is not, "Shall we associ- 
ate?" but, "For what purpose shall we associ- 
ate ?" All in the human family are not boys 
and brothers. There are sisters. And there 
must be place in the fellowship of boy com- 
radeship for them. Of course they are admit- 
ted to social fellowship, and receive the regard 
of g-enuinely genteel brotherhood ; and shall 
have the manly, noble, whole-hearted, pure 
fellowship of their brothers who are, as broth- 
ers, upon gentlemanly honor to be champions 
of the good, the true, the manly in every sense 
and through their fellowship as gentleman- 
and lady-comrades create and sustain sound 
moral and social sentiment, such as shall 
strengthen every noble faculty and feeling- of 
each individual associated in such circle. 

The social spirit which is a part of us brings 
together in simple essential comradeship for 
its own sake ; but this being so should not 
hinder from making noble use of the opportu- 
nities involved in the association. The char- 
acter-building, so much emphasized in this 
manual, has its greatest advantage in the so- 
cial phase of life here discussed. A young 
man may determine to be reverent toward 
God, respectful to womanhood, honest, indus- 
trious, and a world-helper, all of which we ad- 
vocate earnestly, and yet realize that he is in 
very much of an unfinished state of character. 
Many crudities of manner, many omissions of 
courtesy will be noticed to have had place in 
his past life, when once the young- man g-ets 



TRUE MANLINESS. 91 

into society — if he has remained without such 
circle and kept too long- to his boy-comrade- 
ship alone. The old-fashioned country spell- 
ing-school has been a sort of " university ex- 
tension" help to many a boy roug-h-hewn 
whose polish for later life was received in part 
when " spelling- down" the girls from " Ridge 
deestrict." The man-to-man touch of life is as 
a polishing or smoothing stone, and is much 
needed, but the finer manner and nobler con- 
ception of life is through the society of wo- 
manhood. The mother and sisters of the home 
are not forgotten ; neither are the influences 
of these upon the boys reckoned as of light 
weight. We emphasize these, but call atten- 
tion to the general need for the intermingling 
of men and women in the social circle, that 
brings and carries happy, helpful influences 
throughout the association, " from each to all 
and from all to each." 

Here is a call for the assertion of strongest, 
purest manhood; and here also is the help to 
encourage and strengthen the manhood that 
would be truty manly and seek to be counted 
a worthy sister's most noble and high-minded 
brother. The man who looks upon woman- 
hood with a brother's purest motive can not 
fail to be made stronger by every such look of 
respect. The thought of being worthy to be a 
protector of womanhood is self-cheering and 
heaven-inspiring to any man. A right appre- 
ciation of this privilege and duty in one's soci- 
ety relations will impel a man forward and 
create about him a society of worth, culture 



92 TRUE MANLINESS. 

and moral power, that will result in saving 
many a youthful life from snares and pitfalls 
open almost everj^where for the young- of both 
sexes. The smoothness of character that each 
man receives from his proper place in social 
relation to womanhood, becomes a help to the 
men of society, too. Then this social aggrega- 
tion becomes a mixed comradeship and a co- 
operative society for mutual good, strength- 
ening and polishing its membership, afford- 
ing the enjoyment of a fellowship which en- 
riches the manly and womanly life by leading 
upward as it leads outward in the general un- 
selfishness essential to the continuance of the 
circle of association — society. Dignity in both 
sexes is thus developed. 

A point not to be forgotten is that the truly 
manly man is called upon, in his privileges of 
social comradeship, to make his social life a 
strong support for the protection of every wo- 
man of the race. The first demand for the dis- 
play of such chivalrous helpfulness is toward 
mother, who so wonderfully relates the young 
man to all womanhood. Let it never be said 
of any young man who reads these lines that 
he neglected mother May it follow as a law of 
life for each of these that womanhood every- 
where is nobly respected and its powers over 
men for good extended because these earnest 
pleas are being made for true manliness. Nev- 
er should an impure thought be entertained 
regarding any woman. Guard with soldierly 
vigilance the thoughts and impulses that seek 
admission to the heart. The law of God 



TRUE MANLINESS. 93 

against adultery is strong because the infinite 
Father seeks to save both manhood and wo- 
manhood from a sure destroyer. As a com- 
ment upon the simple sentence of law in the 
decalogue, " Thou shalt not commit adultery," 
the Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed that " Who- 
soever looketh on a woman to lust after her 
hath committed adultery with her already in 
his heart" (Matt, v, 28). 

Keep upon your tongue pure speech, 
In your thoughts allow no lust ; 

Manly life's within your reach- 
Do not grovel in the dust. 

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."— Jesus 
Christ (Matt, v, 8). 

AMUSEMENTS VERSUS REGREATION. 

Cheerfulness is wholesome to the body, mind, and morals. 

One of the grave charges usually brought 
against amusement-seeking is that with the 
average young man the general effect is to 
keep him "bound to the wheels of amuse- 
ment's chariot" with little taste, soon, for any- 
thing else. The social practices to which it is 
here applied are classed with those things of 
which Bishop Vincent says, " Better not." 

Recreation is enjoyable occupation that 
rests the tired or wearied parts while bringing 
other faculties into play. Recreation (from re- 
create) builds up departments of being that 
have been somewhat exhausted in toil and per- 
mits other departments, yet strong in energy, 
to be engaged in enjoyable ways as the best 
means of accomplishing this building up. 



94: TRUE MANLINESS. 

There are many ways of restoring 1 waning 1 
powers without resorting to anything" that 
may be mischievous in its nature or effects. 
What we want is to rest the wearied organs 
and parts and restore the energies that sup- 
ply these while on duty. We want to build up 
the man, not tear down any part of him. We 
should guard against waste. Recreation tends 
to husband our strength, while amusements 
deplete our forces. Proper enjoyment, or fun, 
if you please, aids digestion and strengthens 
the assimilative powers of the mind ; and yet, 
to "make fun a business" is to belittle man- 
hood and supplant true dignity with some- 
thing unworthy our time and talents. In the 
youthful period of life when hope abounds 
and vital powers serve as a speeding locomo- 
tive to send the life forward as a lightning ex- 
press, it is well to weigh ourselves, our Hkes 
and dislikes, and the things to which these at- 
tract us, and the relations borne out into the 
farther, larger life of more mature manhood ; 
and if we come to see, through that old law of 
physics and philosophy, that "like attracts 
like" and that the far-off relationships of some 
of these attracting likes are not morally good 
for us, we ought to "turn on the power" of our 
manhood to check the operation of the dan- 
gerous likes and determine to possess a relish 
for only the better things. At this point we 
are likely to be met by a class of counselors 
who declare that there is no harm in popular 
amusements, and that only persons "with 
cranky notions " are opposed to these " oppor- 



TRUE MANUNESS. 95 

tunities for healthful exercise and pleasant so- 
cial benefits !" Another class of persons con- 
demns popular amusements usually from the 
conviction that they lead to evil and are often 
evil in themselves. When we have applied the 
principles upon which these amusements rest 
there will still be left room to exercise judg- 
ment, manhood and good taste in discriminat- 
ing- between the safe and the unsafe "pastimes 
and pleasures" with which one may meet al- 
most everywhere. 

*The element of danger inherent in popular 
amusements — the dance, the theater, the card 
table, etc.— is the quality of deceptiveness. In 
themselves, they seem innocent enough, and 
yet either one of them may lead to serious evil 
— the impairment of morals, or the destruction 
Of character. Instead of being restricted to 
wholesome diversion and needful recreation 
they are extended to dissipation, injuring the 
health, and unfitting for life's duties. Unscru- 
pulous persons of both sexes make the dance 
an occasion for the corruption of morals, pray- 
ing upon the innocent and unsuspecting. The 
morals of the theater range from the tolerable 
to the vilest and lowest, and attempts to puri- 
fy the stage have met with failure. Xjhere may 
be some worthy men and women actors, but if 
so they are the exceptions. Card playing is a 
game that required ^small skill and little sense, 
and the element of chance renders it popular 
and fascinating. Without gambling, from 
which it is seldom long separated, it would be 

*The Editor. 



96 TRUE MANLINESS. 

a monotonous game, harmless as "authors." 
Young* men have the power of choice in se- 
lecting their amusements. While the testimo- 
ny of worthy men and women who have earn- 
estly opposed these questionable amusements 
may have been prejudiced and exaggerated, 
there is enough truth in their warnings to 
merit most respectful and careful considera- 
tion. Do not be mistaken, for danger surely 
lurks in each questionable amusement. 

VALUABLE QUOTATIONS. 

" WITNESSES FOR THE TRUTH." 

KEEP Pure.— Rome fell, not overpowered by 
outside forces, but because her people became 
corrupt. Keep pure. — E. E. Day, Kankakee, 111. 

Nothing enfeebles a man like sin ; therefore, 
as strength is the crowning necessity in the 
campaign before us, we must be pure. — F. A. 
Atkins. 

Thou shalt need all the strength that God 
God can give, simply to live, my friend, simply 
to live.— F. W. H. Myers. 

Flee also youthful lusts, but follow right- 
eousness, faith charity, peace, with them that 
call on the Lord out of a pure heart. — Paul. 

Definition of Sin. — Whatever weakens your 
reason, impairs your conscience, obscures 
your sense of God, or takes off your relish for 
spiritual things; in short, that which increases 
the strength and authority of your body over 
your mind— that is a sin to you, however inno- 



TRUE MANLINESS. 97 

cent in itself. — A rule of Susannah Wesley for 
her sons. 

Consider everything- unlawful which indis- 
poses to prayer, or interrupts communion 
with God. Never go into any company, busi- 
ness, or situation in which you can not con- 
scientiously ask and expect the Divine Pres- 
ence. — Dr. Payson. 

Character.— Character is property. It is 
the noblest of possessions. — Samuel Smiles. 

He bade me act a manly part, though I had ne'er a farthing, 
For without an honest, manly heart no man was worth regarding. 

—Burns. 
Men of character are the conscience of the 
society to which they belong-. — Emerson. 

Character is one of the greatest motive pow- 
ers in the world. In its noblest embodiments 
it exemplifies human nature in its highest 
forms, for it exhibits man at his best. — Smiles. 

IDEALS. — If men have noble ideals and a vig"- 
orous moral sense, in spite of many mistakes 
and manifold weakness, they make substan- 
tial progress ; if they part with their ideals, 
they inevitably decline in force, vitality and 
productiveness. — The Outlook. 

Theaters.— The theater must be distinctly 
classed among those dangerous amusements 
that have caused the ruin of innumerable 
young- people. Whatever is good in it is more 
than counterbalanced by the evil. It is noto- 
rious that the theater is the door to all sinks 
of iniquity.— Henry Ward Beecher. 



98 TRUE MANLINESS. 

BEER Drinking.— In appearance the beer 
drinker may be the picture of health, but in 
reality he is most incapable of resisting- dis- 
ease. A slight injury, a severe cold or a shock 
to the body or mind will commonly provoke 
acute disease, ending- fatally. Compared with 
other inebriates who use different kinds of al- 
cohol, he is more incurable and more gener- 
ally diseased. It is our observation that beer 
drinking in this country produces the very 
lowest kind of inebriety. The most dangerous 
ruffians in our large cities are beer drinkers. 
Intellectually a stupor, amounting almost to 
paralysis, arrests the reason, changing all the 
higher faculties into mere animation, sensual, 
selfish, sluggish, varied only with paroxysms 
of anger, senseless and brutal. — The Scientific 
American. 

Temperance and Long Life.— There are but 
few general rules that can be definitely fol- 
lowed in all cases, but the one golden watch- 
word of a long life, which is as safe as it is ef- 
ficacious, is moderation. Moderation in all 
things — diet, exercise and work. I have been 
benefited by a good heredity, but I don't credit 
all my long life and health to it. I am a total 
abstainer from tobacco, and all spirituous and 
intoxicating liquors; and to this fact I largely 
attribute my prolonged good health. Evil, to 
my mind, can be the only result of indulgence 
in drink, and the drinking habit. As in the 
use of narcotics, so it is with drink. The de- 
sire which impels the use goes on increasing- 
with age. Drinking, when continued even to 



TRUE MANLINESS. 99 

no very large extent, tends to blunt the sensi- 
bilities, and transforms the one who indulges 
the habit, in some way not favorable. He will, 
at any rate, in my opinion, lose a few of his 
finer perceptions. An habitual drinker not 
only does not "astonish his stomach" with wa- 
ter, but, after awhile he loses the sweet and 
natural relish for it. — P. T. Barnum. 

Steady Temperate Life and Prosperity. 
— Twenty-five years ago I knew every man, wo- 
man and child in Peekskill. And it has been 
a study with me to mark boys who started in 
every grade of life with myself, to see what has 
become of them. I was up last fall and began 
to count them over, and it was an instructive 
exhibit. Some of them became clerks, merch- 
ants, manufacturers, lawyers and doctors. It 
is remarkable that every one of those that 
drank are dead; not one living of my age. 
Barring a few who were taken off by sickness, 
every one who proved a wreck and wrecked 
his family, did it from rum and no other 
cause. Of those who were church-going peo- 
ple, who were steady, industrious, hard-work- 
ing men, who were frugal and thrifty, every 
single one of them, without an exception, owns 
the house in which he lives and has something 
laid by, the interest on which, with his house, 
would carry him through many a rainy day. 
When a man becomes debased with gambling, 
rum or drink, he doesn't care; all his finer feel- 
ings are crowded out. The poor women at 
home are the ones to suffer — suffer in their 
tenderest emotions; suffer in their affections 



100 TRUE MANLINESS. 

for those whom they love better than life.— 
Chauncey M. Depew. 

Best Living. — It is indeed a glorious thing* 
to live, if one lives gloriously. — Dr. Sperry. 

The Men We Seek.— We are now looking- for 
men who can boast — if boastful they may be — 
that their chief aim has ever been to be men of 
the manly type, worthy sons of reverenced 
mothers, chivalrous brothers of gentle sister- 
hood, true brother-men whose souls glow with 
holy zeal to make life worth living, and to hon- 
or manhood and divinity by devotion to the 
one supreme purpose of God the Father — that 
men be saved from every unmanly, ungodly 
thing here in this world and all the time. — X. 

Manhood's Law.— Each [bodily] organ was 
made for a special use ; each function estab- 
lished for a specific purpose. No one will at- 
tempt to deny that the specific purpose of the 
sexual function is the propagation of the spe- 
cies. For this the Creator designed it, and the 
nearer mankind confine themselves to its use 
in accordance with this design, the nearer do 
they come to obedience to the sexual law, and 
the purer and holier do they learn to consider 
the entire sexual apparatus, and the office it 
was designed to perform. — E. P. Miller, M. D. 

Death by Violated Law.— Many a young- 
man has gone on week after week and month 
after month, holding out more and more 
plainly the signs of declining - health and 
strength ; but no one enquires into the cause 
of his troubles, or takes much notice of his 



TRUE MANLINESS. 101 

perilous condition until it is too late to save 
him. At last his sun goes down, his compan- 
ions wear crape at the funeral, and the minis- 
ter says : " In the mysterious providence of 
God this young- man has been prematurely 
called away!" It is false! He was a victim of 
ignorance of the laws of his being, or of the 
terrible consequences of the violation of those 
laws ! This young- man was a suicide ! It 
does not take a man with a rope around his 
neck to be a suicide, or with a potion of poison 
in his stomach. — Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. 

Flee fornication (1 Cor. vi, 18). Flee also 
youthful lusts (2 Tim. ii, 22). What ! know ye 
not that your body is the temple of the Holy 
Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God 
(1 Cor. vi, 19)?— St. Paul. 

Little Things.— The temptation to underes- 
timate the value of small things comes to all. 
We frequently hear young- people say, "O, it's 
a small matter and amounts to very little any- 
way." A wise person has said, " Trifles make 
perfection, and perfection is no trifle." It is 
because of the power of little things in charac- 
ter formation that we quote the following- in- 
cidents, hoping to impress the truth upon the 
receptive minds of the young-. 

It is said that a small nail driven too near 
the compass, so deflected the needle as to 
cause a large steamer to go 200 miles out of its 
course in crossing- the ocean. 

Thousands of little insects so obscured the 
bright light of a great revolving lamp in a 



102 TRUE MANLINESS. 

coast lighthouse that a ship was not warned. 
It was wrecked on the rocks and many lives 
were lost, because the tiny insects darkened 
the life-saving - ray. 

"I was sent one day," said a now prominent 
druggist, "to deliver a vial of medicine just at 
noon, but, being hungry, stopped to eat my 
luncheon. The patient, for lack of the medi- 
cine, sank rapidly, and for some days was 
thought to be dying. I felt myself his mur- 
derer, The agony of that long suspense made 
a man of me. I learned then that for every 
one of our acts of carelessness or misdoing, 
however petty, some one pays in suffering. 
The law is more terrible to me because it is not 
always the misdoer himself who suffers." 

The thoughtless repetition of gossip may 
taint a fair name, or blacken a reputation. 

A single social glass extended with a desire 
to be hospitable, may awaken the sleeping 
fires of inherited appetite, and lead to helpless 
inebriety. 

Chains are made of small links. The snow- 
flakes, light as air, stop the railroad train. An 
idle word may break a lifetime friendship. 
Faithfulness in that which is least is the di- 
vine test of character.— J. B. C. 

A Drop of Ink. — " I don't see why you will 
not let me play with Robert Scott," pouted 
Walter Brown. "I know he does not always 
mind his mother, and smokes cigars and 
sometimes swears. But I have been brought 
up better than that* He will not hurt me and 



TRUE MANLINESS. 103 

I should think you would trust me. Perhaps 
I could do him good." 

"Walter," said Mrs. Brown, "take this glass 
of clear water and put just one drop of ink in- 
to it." He did so. 

"O, mother, who would have thought one 
drop would blacken a whole glass so ?" 

"Yes ; it has changed the color of the whole, 
has it not? It is a shame to do that. Just put 
one drop of clean water into it and restore its 
purity," said his mother. 

"Why, mother, you are laughing at me. One 
drop, nor a dozen, nor fifty will not do that." 

" No, my son ; and that is the reason why I 
can not allow one drop of Robert Scott's evil 
nature to mingle with your careful training, 
many drops of which would make no impres- 
sion on him." — Adapted by the editor. 

CONQUEST OF SELF. 

Not he who rides through conquered cities' gates, 
At head of blazoned hosts, and to the sound 

Of victor's trumpets, in full blast and state 
Of war, the utmost pitch has dreamed or found, 
To which the thrill of triumph has been given. 

Not he who by a nation's vast acclaim, 
Is sudden brought and singled out alone, 

And while the people madly shout his name, 
Without a conscious purpose of his own, 
Is swung and lifted to a nation's throne. 

But he who has all single-handed and alone, 

With foes invisible on every side, 
And unsuspected of the multitude, 

The force of fate itself has dared, defied, 
And conquered silently. Ah! that soul knows 
In what white heat the blood of triumph flows.— Anon. 



104 TRUE MANLINESS. 

A MOTHER'S LETTER TO HER SON. 

The following- letter, by Mrs. Leavitt, was 
printed in the Philanthropist in 1892. It is a 
message of loving warning, such as any intel- 
ligent mother might wish to give to her son : 

My Dear 

I am sure you will not question my love for 
you, nor my desire to promote your happiness, 
your safety, in this life and in that which is 
beyond the grave. 

I have frequently spoken with you about 
truthfulness, honesty, industry, temperance 
and other good qualities, which I wish to see 
become a part of your character and habits. 

But there is one subject of as great moment 
as any of these upon which I have been silent, 
but which I ask you now to consider. I refer 
to chastity, or purity, and may God forgive me 
if I have been too long" silent ! 

Without question you will be solicited to evil 
sometime in your life, and forewarned is many 
times forearmed. You will be told, perhaps, 
that it is unmanly to live a pure life, that it is 
girlish — you may be told that your health will 
suffer if you maintain your purity. 

Can it be unmanly to live in such a way that 
you do not fear to have every act proclaimed in 
the presence of any listeners ? Is it not the 
most unmanly course possible to live in such 
a manner that a thick veil must be drawn over 
a portion of your life, and you tremble at the 
thought of its being withdrawn? The manli- 
est way of living is that which will enable you 



TRUE MANLINESS. 105 

to look every person in the face, and to stand 
g-uiltless before God. 

In God's word you see that there is great dan- 
ger of sinning- alone, as well as with others, for 
he says he will "bring into judgment every se- 
cret thing." A terrible judgment falls upon 
such sinners, and often in its effects descends 
to several generations, or blots out the family. 
When alone, be alone with God. Remember 
that his eye is upon you all the time, and he 
will keep you pure and happy. 

Again you will have better health and main- 
tain it to a far later period if you remain chaste 
until your wedding day, which should not oc- 
cur till about the twenty-fifth year [and then 
live a continent, self-controled life]. Direct 
your thoughts and emotions and conversation 
in right channels; interest yourself in, and 
practice open air sports of the more vigor- 
ous sort, and thank God if your calling is 
one that takes you out into God's free air. 

The falling off in health which life insurance 
tables show between eighteen and twenty-five, 
at just the period when there ought to be the 
greatest gain in firmness and solid health, is 
evidence of the truth of the foregoing state- 
ment, when coupled with the declaration of 
medical men as to the cause of the deteriora- 
tion. Be assured God has not written one law 
in his book and another contrary to it. in your 
own constitution. If every young man should 
live as I am advising you, there would soon 
be a real improvement instead of a race dete- 
rioration going forward. 



106 TRUE MANLINESS. 

You men call us the weaker sex. Should you 
not then be manly enough to protect the weak 
from the greatest injury possible to a woman, 
nor add to the soil if she is already fallen? 

You are looking forward to marriage at 
some future day. The girl is now living, in 
all probability, who will, before many years, 
be your wife. Will you not live your life as 
purely as }^ou wish her to live hers? Have you 
any right to demand of her when you stand at 
the marriage altar more than you bring to her? 

Take the White Cross or Gospel Purity 
pledge, read the works written for }^oung men 
and spread the principles.* I entreat you by 
my own motherhood and care for you, use 
3 r our influence to induce every man to take the 
following pledge or one equally binding: 

Henceforth, God helping me, I will keep 
myself pure in thought, word and action, 
and I will treat every woman as I wish oth- 
er men to treat my mother, my sister, my 
wife, my daughter. 

Thus honoring womanhood }^ou will honor 
yourself, your father, and more especially, 

Your loving mother. 

*True Manhood, by E. R, Shepherd, a superb book, $1.25. 
True Manliness, by Rev. C. E. Walker, a pocket manual for 
boys and young men. A key to highest success. 75c. 
Thoughts of a Young Man Contemplating Marriage, 10c. 
Masturbation, a compilation of best thoughts, unexcelled, 5c. 
Advantages of Chastity, by Holbrook. Very convincing, $1. 
Health Notes for Students, by Prof. Wilder, 25c. 
How to Overcome Inherited Tendencies; a tract, 2c. 
Rules for Sexual Health; a very important compilation, 2c. 
Marriage; Its Duties and Dangers. A valuable treatise. 10c. 
Order of National Purity Association, 79 5th Ave., Chicago, 111. 



TRUE MANLINESS. 107 

VERY IMPORTANT TO YOUNG MEN. 

One of the things upon which quacks and 
medical frauds rely for an income is the igno- 
rance of }^oung men in regard to their physi- 
cal functions. It is easy for the unscrupulous 
to make the average uninformed youth think 
that his case is desperate, when his life is prac- 
tically normal. In order that as many as pos- 
sible may be instructed we print the following 
extracts from the writings of eminent physi- 
cians upon the subject of involuntary emis- 
sions, or losses, remarking that they have been 
selected by the author of True Manhood as an 
essential addition to that excellent book : 

Dr. Geo. H. Naphej^s, one of the most able 
physicians on the Atlantic coast, says: "We 
have often been consulted by j^oung men who 
were badly frightened because they had in- 
voluntary losses. There is no danger in such 
discharges when moderate. They are not a 
sign of weakness but of strength. They do not 
constitute the disease of spermatorrhea, and 
there is no necessity for a moment's anxiety 
about them. It is no disgrace, and nothing to 
be ashamed of, as it arises nearly as often in 
the perfectly continent as in unchaste men. 
Spermatorrhea is a very rare disease and is al- 
ways preventable. Our advice is, Do not fret 
about 3^ourself, but keep your thoughts and 
actions pure, and yon will not suffer." — Trans- 
mission of Life, p. 85-87. 

Prof. Newman, noted author and physician, 
says : "Moralists have at all times regarded 
strict temperance in food, and abstinence from 



108 TRUE MANLINESS. 

strong" drinks to be of cardinal value in main- 
taining- young men's purity. But whatever 
our care to be temperate, whatever our activi- 
ty of body, it is not possible always to keep the 
exact balance between need and supply. Ev- 
ery organ is liable occasionally to be over- 
charged and, in every youthful or vigorous 
nature, has power to relieve itself. 

"Considering that in man the sexual appetite 
is not as in wild animals, something which 
comes for only a short season and imperative- 
ly demands gratification, but on the contrary 
is perennial, constant, and yet is not necessari- 
ly to be exercised at all, his nature can not be 
harmonious and happy unless it can right it- 
self under smaller derangements of balance 
But this is precisely what it does ; and I can 
not but think it of extreme importance not to 
allow a bugbear to be made out of that which, 
on the face of the matter, is God's provision 
that men shall not be harmed by perfect chas- 
tity. " 

"On gathering up what I # know, what I have 
read and what I believe on testimony, I dis- 
tinctly assert that this occurrence is strictly 
spontaneous— that it comes upon youths who 
not only have never practised, but have never 
heard of such a thing as secret vice; that it 
comes on without having been induced by any 
voluntary act, and without any previous men- 
tal inflammation. 

"I assert most positively that it is an utter 
mistake to suppose that it necessarily weakens 
or depresses, or entails any disagreeable after- 



TRUE MANLINESS. 109 

results whatever. I have never so much as 
once in my life had reason to think so. I have 
even believed that it adds to the spring- of the 
body, and to the pride of manhood in youths. 

"Whether you try by starvation or by toil, af- 
ter all you will not succeed in exactly keeping 1 
the balance; and the over-careful efforts will 
produce a state of anxiety and tremor not 
mentally wholesome." 

"Such emissions, occurring once in every ten 
or fourteen days, are in the nature of a safety 
valve, and are even conducive to health in per- 
sons who do not take enough exercise and live 
generously. It would however, be better to be 
free even from these; and I feel convinced 
that in one who has not allowed himself to 
dwell on sexual thoughts, but takes strong 
bodily exercise, and lives abstemiously, emis- 
sions will either not occur, or their occurrence 
may not be looked for only very rarely. It is 
when the losses take place repeatedly, attended 
by symptoms of prostration with other ill con- 
sequences, that the patient should seek medi- 
cal advice." — Wm. Acton, Reproductive Or- 
gans, p. 13, 105. 

TfiE YOUNG MAN'S LIBRARY 

IS AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN CHARACTER- 
BUILDING. 

Here is a list of books which every boy 
would do well to possess. Buy them one at a 
time rather than fail to have a library. 

The Bible; large, clear type, if possible. We 
recommend the teachers' edition, with con- 
cordance and helps. 



110 TRUE MANLINESS. 

A hymn book, any church collection is good. 
Commit to memory a few good hymns. 

The Still Hour, by Austin Phelps, 60c. 

The Lord is Right; Meditations on the Twen- 
ty-fifth Psalm, by Rev. P. P. Waldenstrom, $1. 

Lessons in Physiology, for Colleges, by Prof. 
George D. Lind, $1.25. 

Heads and Faces and How to Study Them, 
by Nelson Sizer, $1. 

The Life of Christ, by Rev. James Stalker, 60c. 

The Life of President Mark Hopkins, by Ed- 
wards. President Garfield said: "Given a log 
with Mark Hopkins on one end and a boy on 
the other and you have a college." $1.50. 

There are a number of excellent biographies 
of good men, fine and helpful reading. Biog- 
raphy is always interesting, and if the subject 
is a good person we do well to study the char- 
acter with care. 

Moral Muscle ; How wasted, How Preserved, 
by F. P. Miller, M. D. $1. 

Successful Men of Today, by Wilbur F 
Crafts. A good work. $1. 

The Making of a Man, by J. W. Lee. This is 
rather heavy reading, but it "whets up" one's 
thinking greatly. $1.50. 

A Clean Life, by Dr. Kate C. Bushnell, 35c. 

Of course these books — after the Bible and 
hymn book — are special mention, and not in- 
tended to constitute all a young man's own 
books, as we think he ought to possess a much 
larger collection, if possible, following out the 
hints given in this manual and adding the 
wisdom of his best associates in gathering for 
himself the very best printed counsel — silent 
companionship. 

ggpAny book desired may be obtained from 
the National Purity Association, 79-81 Fiftji 
Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. 



THE NATIONAL PURITY ASSOCIATION 

[Incorporated according to the laws of Illinois, 1894] 
PRINCIPLES 

We believe in the right of children to be well 
born, carefully reared, and wisely, lovingly in- 
structed in physiological facts to such an ex- 
tent that they may be protected from the evils 
of impure thought, speech and action; that 
they may have correct; exalted views of life 
and all that pertains to its normal exercise, 
that they may become happy, healthy, useful 
men and women. 

We believe in the right of woman to deter- 
mine when she shall assume the maternal ot- 
fice; that men and women should realize that 
it is a crime to injure the unborn by impurity 
of thought or life; that it is a sin to conceive 
children who are not mutually desired and 
lovingly welcomed. 

We believe that men and women have no vi- 
tality or nerve force to waste in sinful, foolish, 
sensual indulgence. No expenditure of vital 
force ifc justifiable that has not an adequate, 
worthy object; therefore, the nearer men and 
women approach to strict purity of life, the 
nearer they come to fulfilling the law of God 
in physical and spiritual life. 

Two things affect humanity: heredity and 
environment. They should be made as good 
as possible. A child born of love, wisdom and 
goodness, is likely to be a blessing to the 
world. One born of lust and evil passion will 
need grace and good, pure surroundings to 
keep from becoming a curse. 



2 THE NATIONAL PURITY ASSOCIATION 

We believe that as man is superior to the 
brute and has a higher order of intelligence, 
wisdom dictates that humanity should have 
more careful culture and consideration than 
that bestowed upon the best specimens of the 
lower animals. Stirpiculture is the most im- 
portant and at the same time a most neglected 
science. Race improvement, through right 
g-eneration, seems to be in harmony with true 
philosophy, sound sense, the spirit of Christ, 
and all true religion. 

We believe that greatest g-ood can come to 
mankind only through the observance of true 
and righteous rules of life, that exalt the soul, 
purify the mind, and give strength and solidi- 
ty to the moral nature. 

We believe that the true home is the most 
important factor in the elevation of mankind 
and the prosperity and greatness of a nation; 
therefore no effort should be spared to increase 
the number of virtuous, prosperous, and hap- 
py homes. 

We believe that life may be, and should be 
as pure and holy in its inception as it is possi- 
ble for it ever to become; that pro-creation 
may be, and should be as sacred as prayer; 
that the perversion of sex through ignorance, 
wrong teaching and inherited viciousness is a 
fruitful source of crime, misery, disease and 
degradation, as well as domestic unhappiness, 
infelicity and premature death; that the waste 
of vital force produces prostration, for which 
stimulants are resorted to, resulting- in wide- 
spread intemperance. 



THE NATIONAL PURITY ASSOCIATION 3 

We believe that sex perversion is blighting 
alike to soul, intellect and physical being. 

We believe that the spread of light and truth 
is the most effective and potent method, but 
advocate the encouragement of every measure 
having a tendency to promote the cause of pu- 
rity, directly or indirectly. 

We believe that the scriptures rightly inter- 
preted, harmonize with science and justice, 
and this we constantly affirm. 

We believe that vitality conserved is trans- 
formed into life-producing elements, enrich- 
ing the blood, giving strength to the muscles, 
steadiness to the nerves, vigor to the brain, 
keenness to the intellect and exaltation to the 
spiritual nature. 

While many of the manifestations of sex may 
seem purely animal and physical, this func- 
tion is intimately connected with soul and 
spirit. This accounts, in some measure, for 
the moral degradation of sexual perverts. 

For some reason the matter of sexual educa- 
tion has been neglected. It is a subject ig- 
nored by the parent, the press, the pulpit and 
the public teacher. The physician considers 
it his business to treat diseases, not to impart 
instruction. Even the mother neglects to in- 
form her child upon this most important sub- 
ject. The Pearl Bryans who are led astray and 
destroyed for lack of knowledge are a numer- 
ous class. 

Ignorance upon the sacredness of creative 
faculties results in their perversion, causing 
Untold misery and degradation. A little in- 



4 THE NATIONAL PURITY ASSOCIATION 

formation, wisely imparted by the printed 
page, the sincere teacher, or the loving parent 
would have prevented much of the evil and di- 
rected life's forces and energies into useful 
and exalted channels. 

Money is generously bestowed upon art, lit- 
erature and science; educational institutions 
are endowed and hospitals founded which are 
a credit to the world's civilization. Let it be 
used as wisely and half as generously in the 
improvement, enlightenment and elevation of 
the human race through the lines of heredity, 
transmission, pre-natal influences, and the 
conservation and direction of vital force, and 
the divine possibilities of the race will soon 
appear. 

It is well to provide for the insane, imbecile, 
feeble minded and criminal; but our whole 
duty is not done until the production of these 
unfortunates is reduced to the lowest possible 
limit. 

Quack doctors circulate their contaminating 
pamphlets b}^ the million. To escape the ef- 
fects of vice millions of dollars are annually 
spent. So common is ante-natal murder that 
it has been called the American crime. 

Our idea is that knowledge on the subject of 
sex should be universally diffused. It is the 
best method, of which we know, to counteract 
the baleful influence of ignorance; to insure 
the best conditions to posterity; to promote 
the best interests of family life and the perpe- 
tuity of the true home; to protect the innocent 



THE NATIONAL PURITY ASSOCIATION 5 

from the snares of the vicious ; to save the na- 
tion from wasting- decay and destruction. 

The discussion of vice is not essential to true 
purity work, nor is it wise to deal merely with 
its physical aspects. The foundation of all 
purity work is correct thinking*. The mental 
and spiritual control and determine the phys- 
ical. 

We can secure a list of 10,000 newly married 
and send them suitable literature for $400. In- 
calculable good would result. 

We can secure, on the same terms, millions 
of names of persons to whom literature should 
be sent, and it is only the cost of this work that 
stands in the way of its accomplishment. 

We would teach that purity of life, restraint 
and self-control are essential elements of true 
Christianity. 

We would instruct the youth of both sexes 
so that they might escape the snares and pit- 
falls that beset the pathway of the young 

We would warn the boys and young men 
who are being contaminated by vile stories, 
conversation and epithets. 

We would make systematic effort to cleanse 
the advertising columns of the public press 
from questionable, demoralizing advertising, 
and the news columns from details of crime. 

An active, wise, earnest worker is needed in 
every community to distribute literature, talk 
with parents, teachers, editors, doctors, pas- 
tors; establish mothers' meetings, etc. 

In behalf of the coming child, in behalf of 
the home, we ask that you will do what you 



6 THE NATIONAL PURITY ASSOCIATION 

can to help promote the cause of true purity. 

SOME WAYS YOU MAY HELP. 

Subscribe for the Christian Life, 1 yr., 50c. 

Order books, papers, etc., of the Association. 

Take one or more shares in the National Puri- 
ty Association, at $10 each. 

Remember the Association in your will ; but, 
better, if possible, be your own executor. 

Take one or more shares in the Christian Life 
Circulating 1 Association, at $5 each, and 
have the Christian Life sent one year 
to 20 names for each share. 

For $10 anyone may become a life subscriber. 

Give the cause your sympathy and your earn- 
est prayers. 
Remember that each member of either asso- 
ciation is entitled to books, publications, etc., 

at wholesale rates. 

SYNOPSiS OF CONSTITUTION. 

The objects are the prevention of perversions 
and the promotion of purity by the circulation 
of literature devoted to the subject and in all 
other laudable ways. 

Any person in sympathy with this work is 
eligible to membership. 

Property, funds or other appurtenances shall 
not revert to private ownership, or profit, but 
shall be held and used continuously for the 
purposes of its organization. 

Shares are limited to 500 ten-dollar shares. 

Bequests, gifts, and subscriptions are wel- 
come and greatly needed for the promotion of 
the work. 



Ghristian Life Circulating Association. 

This Association was formed in 1889 for the 
purpose of systematically increasing- the cir- 
culation of the Christian Life. 

Shares are $5 each and entitle the holder (1) 
to 12 copies of the Christian Life, one year, 
to be sent to any addresses desired ; (2) to oth- 
er publications, books, etc., at cost ; (3) to voice 
in all affairs of the publication. 

One hundred and twenty-one shares are sub- 
scribed up to date, May 15, 1895, and incalcula- 
ble good has been accomplished, many thou- 
sands of papers having been sent out by this 
Association's efforts. 

One of the cardinal principles has been to 
send forth the truth whether it afforded profit 
or not ; and to consider the improvement of 
the home, the increased happiness, the secur- 
ing- to children their right to be well born and 
intelligently reared, etc., a sufficient reward 
for efforts and money spent. 

We have insisted from the start that no other 
field of reform has been so sadly neglected, 
and that there is none in which wise effort will 
meet with better results. 

We most earnestly urge upon all the great 
need of an educative crusade upon the line of 
human improvement. The truth, as published 
in the Christian Life, will, we believe, com- 
mend itself to the favorable consideration of 
every intelligent, unprejudiced mind. 

We request everyone who reads this to do all 
he can for the spread of the g-ospel of purity; 
and if possible to take one or more shares in 
the Christian Life Circulating- Association. 



TO TflE INTELLIGENT READER i ' 

Dear Friend: As a lover of purity, truth 
and equal and exact justice, we ask you, in be- 
half of enlightened humanity, honorable par- 
entage, properly instructed childhood, happy, 
prosperous homes, the elevation of marriage 
to the plane of reverent, true love, the divine 
right of each individual to freedom from inva- 
sion — that you will, if possible, pay into the 
Association at least $5 per year for the circula- 
tion of the Christian Life, the only publica- 
tion specially devoted to these vital interests. 

[Papers to be sent to addresses of your own 
choosing, if you so desire.] 

The Christian Life, represents the Alpha, 
started in 1875, and the principles it stands for 
have been persistently advocated since that 
time. It is earnestly devoted to the improve- 
ment of the human race upon all lines, and 
especially through heredity, pre-natal culture, 
improvement of environment, and scientific 
instruction universally, judiciously, and wise- 
ly disseminated, thus aiding each individual 
to attain divine possibilities. What worthier 
object is conceivable? 

Miss Willard has pronounced the work for 
right generation "the greatest reform the 
world will ever see," and it is evident that no 
work will produce better results, for the sim- 
ple reason that pre-natal influence (all that af- 
fects the character and life of the unborn) is 
the most potent factor in man's control. In- 
telligence upon the subject is an imperative 
duty which none can afford to avoid. 



A PRIVATE LETTER 
To Parents, Physicians, and Men Princi- 
pals of Schools. 



[First published by the Moral Education Society, Washington, 
D. C. It is worthy of most earnest consideration.— j. B. c.]. 

I take the liberty of offering- for your consid- 
eration some views on the spermatic secretion 
which, so far as I know, have not been hitherto 
entertained, either by physicians or the public 
generally. 

It has been customary for physiologists and 
writers on the sexual organs and functions to 
assume that the spermatic secretion is analo- 
gous to the bile, pancreatic juice, saliva, and 
other secretions which are essential to human 
life and which, when once formed, must be 
used and expelled from the system. The log- 
ical deduction from this theory is that to in- 
sure the perfect health of every man and boy 
who has attained the age of fourteen or there- 
abouts, he must expel this secretion at regular 
or irregular periods, either by intercommuni- 
cation with one of the other sex or by mastur- 
bation, unless the secretion passes away by 
the bladder or by involuntary action during" 
sleep. A further deduction is that there exists 
a natural necessity for unrestricted intercom- 
munication between the sexes, or, since socie 
ty will not sanction that, the establishment o± 
houses of prostitution. Now the moral nature 
and finer sensibilities of both men and women 
protest. against such a conclusion, and there- 



2 PRIVATE LETTER. 

fore the truth of the theory which gives rise to 
it is to be doubted. For myself I consider that 
to this theory, so generally believed, is due a 
large part of that sexual immorality which 
turns the heaven of the affections into the hell 
of the passions, and is destroying at once the 
vitality and happiness of our race. 

"As a man thinketh so is he." This is class- 
ic truth. If a boy obtains the impression from 
books, or from companions older than himself, 
that at the age of fourteen or fifteen the sperm- 
atic secretion is necessarily formed and accu- 
mulated, and that, too, without his knowledge, 
volition, or power of prevention, and that in 
order to keep his health he must, in some way, 
periodically throw off the secretion, his actions 
will immediately begin to correspond with his 
belief. 

The comparison, by medical men, of this se- 
cretion with the bile, gastric juice, etc., fixes 
this theory in his mind and confirms him in 
pernicious habits. But substitute the word 
"tears" for bile, and you put before that boy's 
mind an altogether different idea. He knows 
that tears, in falling drops, are not essential to 
life or health. A man may be in perfect health 
and not cry once in five, or even fifty, years. 
The lachrymal fluid is ever present, but in 
such small quantities that it is unnoticed. 
Where are the tears while they remain unshed? 
They are ever ready, waiting to spring forth 
when there is adequate cause — but they do not 
accumulate and distress the man because they 
are not shed daily, weekly or monthly, The 



PRIVATE LETTER. 3 

component elements of the tears are prepared 
in the system ; they are on hand, passing 
through the circulation, ready to mix and flow 
whenever needed ; but if they mix, accumulate 
and flow without adequate cause — without 
ph3 r sical irritation or mental emotion — the 
physician at once decides that there is a dis- 
ease of the lachrymal glands. It is my belief 
that tears and the spermatic fluids are much 
more analogous in their normal manner of se- 
cretion and use than is the gastric juice or bile 
and the spermatic fluids. Neither flow of tears 
or sperm is essential to life or health. Both 
are greatly under the control of the imagina- 
tion, the emotions and the will; and the flow 
of either is liable to be arrested in a moment 
by sudden mental action. Also, when a man 
sheds tears, there is a certain depression aris- 
ing from nervous exhaustion, consequent upon 
the violent emotions which caused the tears, 
and a similar effect follows seminal losses. 

Now, were men and boys taught to believe 
and feel that it is infinitely more degrading 
for them to allow sex excitement without prop- 
er, rational cause, than it is unmanly for them 
to shed tears frequently and on trivial occa- 
sions, and that, moreover, uncalled-for emiss- 
ion is a destructive waste of life material, the 
destructive habits of masturbation, promiscu- 
ous intercourse, and marital profligacy, with 
all their disastrous consequences, might be 
largely prevented. 

The difficulty of dealing with this subject, 
aside from the delicacy which is supposed to 



4: PRIVATE LETTER. 

attend its consideration, lies chiefly in the fact 
that most people are born with strong- amative 
propensities. The sexual license of past gen- 
erations has engendered a sexual excitability 
in the present, which can only be counteract- 
ed, and even then very gradually, by direct ed- 
ucation of the young on sexual ethics, and by 
the g-eneral dissemination of knowledge on 
the normal functions and rational uses of the 
generative organs. 

In beginning thus to educate the people in 
sexual hygiene, scientists should be very care- 
ful to arrive at the true theory on the subject. 
A. theory which tends to bad results, which 
promises no amelioration of the trouble which 
now distresses humanity, is not to be enter- 
tained. 

My heart ached when, at the close of a physi- 
ological lecture on the "Passions," a 3^oung- 
man exclaimed, in appealing" tones, "What 
shall we young men do ? We want to do right, 
but our passions are strong and you doctors 
don't tell us what to do." Though several 
medical men were present not one offered a 
word to strengthen that young man!s will 
power in the line of continence. 

Is it not probable that help in ascertaining 
the normal action of the human org-anism 
may be obtained from comparative anatomy 
and physiology? Suppose the student of na- 
ture dissects and examines the sexual struc- 
ture of the wild deer, of ape and compares it 
with the human. Will not such comparison 
. aid in determining whether it is in accordance 



PRIVATE LETTER. 5 

with nature's simple, unvitiated law and with 
human happiness that the spermatic secretion 
should be formed in such quantity and repro- 
duced so continuously as is now considered 
natural in man? It is at least pertinent to ask 
whether, if this accumulation and mixture of 
the sexual secretions is found, it is not, to a 
very great extent, the result of habit, just as an 
enormous flow of saliva is consequent upon a 
cultivated habit of expectorating-. Some men 
spit a pint a day, others seldom or never spit. 

On parents and teachers devolves the duty 
of preventing- the formation of wrong sexual 
habits in childhood and youth. Besides di- 
rect instruction on the subject children should 
be early trained to the habit of self-control. 
The valuable teachings contained in the fol- 
lowing extract should be deeply pondered by 
all who have the management of youth. The 
writer says: "If there is one habit which, above 
all others, is deserving of cultivation, it is that 
of self-control. In fact, it includes so much 
that is of valuable importance in life that it 
may almost be said that in proportion to its 
power doss the man obtain his manhood and 
the woman her womanhood. The ability to 
identify self with the highest and best parts 
of our nature, and to bring- all the lower parts 
into subjection, or rather to draw them all up- 
wards into harmony with the best that we 
know, is the one central power which supplies 
vitality to all the rest. How to develop this in 
the child may well absorb the energy of every 
parent ; how to cultivate it in himself may well 



6 PRIVATE LETTER. 

employ the wisdom and enthusiasm of every 
youth. Yet it is no mysterious or complicated 
path that leads to this goal. The habit of self- 
control is but the accumulation of repeated 
acts of self-denial for a worthy object; it is but 
the continued authority of reason over im- 
pulse, of judgment over inclination, of con- 
science over desire. He who has acquired this 
habit, who can govern himself intelligently, 
without painful effort, and without fear of re- 
volt from his appetites and passions, has with- 
in him the source of all real power and of all 
true happiness. The force and energy which 
he has put forth day by day, and hour by hour, 
is not exhausted nor even diminished. On the 
contrary, it has increased by use, and has be- 
come keener and stronger by exercise, and al- 
though it has completed its work in the past it 
is still his well-tried, true and powerful weap- 
on for future conflicts in higher regions." 

In earlier stages of the wo* Id's history con- 
ditions aside from sexual needs caused woman 
to become the slave of man. Had the sexes re- 
mained as they came into being, equal and 
free, with full liberty of choice and refusal in 
sexual relations, with equal liberty of advance 
and repulse in every one of the many steps by 
which love proceeds, from the glance of an eye 
to that of intercommunication, which is pri- 
marily and, as I think, solely intended for the 
production of offspring, there is reason to be- 
lieve that this free communion of man with 
woman would, by equalizing the sexual forces, 
have prevented that excessive desire for inter- 
communication which has possessed man 
through all recorded time and which amounts 
to little less than a mania afflicting the whole 
race. SAXON. 

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